Caged Wolf
by esthete-of-the-world
Summary: After the deaths of those closest to him, thirteen-year-old ANBU Hatake Kakashi is headed down a dark path. But when Hogwarts requests a guard for one Harry Potter, will he be able to change for the better? Could the mysteries of his past be revealed in this new world? Set in third year.
1. In Which Tables Become Puppies

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. Obviously.

**Welcome to chapter one! This takes place after Kakashi Gaiden and in Harry's third year, although I might throw in a few things from later books, no major plot spoilers. Japanese will be used sparsely. I would like to thank NorthernHarrier's ****Abyssus**** and SalineRabbits' ****Pridian Moon**** for inspiring this fanfic. Enjoy!**

(Note- this chapter has been edited since its original posting)

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 1: In Which Tables become Puppies<span>**

_Dear Hiruzen Sarutobi,_

_I am overjoyed by the news of the war's end. The attack of the demon fox and the death of Minato are a dark stain on the victory. But as your war ends, it seems mine is about to begin once more. As you know, the boy Harry Potter defeated the dark lord Voldemort some years ago. Recently, however, his followers have become active once again. I am certain they are planning something. There are even rumors of shinobi in the area. If that wasn't enough, the mass murderer Sirius Black has escaped from prison and is after Potter. Your forces must still be strained, but I ask if you can spare one of your shinobi to guard Potter this coming school year. If I remember correctly, Kakashi Hatake is still young enough to pose as a student, and was on his way to becoming a skilled shinobi the last time we met. This is an ideal opportunity for him to finally learn to use his magical abilities. Of course, I will cover all costs and transportation, and give S-ranked mission pay for the whole school year._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore _

_Dear Albus,_

_My village is beginning to recover from the war and the Kyuubi attack, so I have considered your offer. Very clever, Albus. Looks like Kakashi will receive some wizard schooling after all. Yes, Kakashi has indeed exceeded all of our expectations and become the youngest Jonin and ANBU captain in our village's history. He is more than qualified for this mission. I have a feeling he will be a magnificent wizard, as he is already skilled with his family "White Chakra", or as you call it, magic. But I warn you, Albus. He is not the boy you met all those years ago. Kakashi will complete this mission. But, for Sakumo's sake, please try to help him._

_The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen_

Albus Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and sighed. The Hatake clan was the only known magical family on the shinobi continent, and now there was only one member left. Kakashi's father had never attended Hogwarts, but nevertheless Dumbledore had made a point to visit Kakashi after under-age magic was detected in Kohona, like the previous Hogwarts headmaster before him had visited Sakumo Hatake.

**/Flashback/**

Dumbledore studied the white haired boy sitting in a too-big chair across from him. The boy, no more than four, stared back, his expression confused.

"Your clothes are weird. Why do you wear that?" A small Hatake Kakashi asked.

"Well," Dumbledore chuckled, "I rather like it." It was one of his particular favorites, a lime green robe with shining golden starbursts. "Sometimes it's nice to wear something fun, don't you think?" The old wizard gestured at the boy's outfit, an austere black item more appropriate for a funeral than anything else. But the boy across from him shook his small head vigorously.

"Nu-uh! An enemy shinobi could see you from a mile away. And Daddy says that too much clothes make you slow." Kakashi wrinkled his nose like he'd smelled something rotten. "And your beard is really long. Someone could grab it and pull you off balance and then kill you. Or they could get your sleeve and twist it and-" he stopped.

"Oh, sorry," the boy said scratching the back of his head, "I'm not 'upposed to talk about shinobi stuff to civilians. Daddy says it scares you."

It was unnerving, almost frightening hearing a four-year old talk so innocently about death. But Dumbledore kept his opinions to himself; he had to remind himself that this was the shinobi _culture_, and the Hatakes were famous for producing young geniuses.

Dumbledore forced a smile. "Well, it doesn't matter. What's important is what happened yesterday. Would you tell me about it?" To his credit, the wizard didn't even blink at the enlarged, fang-like canine teeth the four-year-old showed when he giggled.

"I was trying to climb trees. Daddy said I should only try when he's there to watch me, but he was tired from a mission so I went by myself. I got _so_ high, almost as good as _Daddy_ did when _he_ showed me. But when I got to the very top I messed up. I thought I was gonna fall, but instead I slid down a big slide." Kakashi grinned again. "It was really weird, because there wasn't a slide there before. But it was really fun too. I wanted to go again but Daddy saw me and then brought me to the Hokage. Then later Daddy said I had to talk to you and then I came here."

"That's quite a story, Kakashi-kun. Now let me ask you this: do you know why that happened?"

The boy thought about it for a moment, then shook his head no.

"You used magic. You're a wizard, Kakashi-kun."

The four year old blinked. "Magic? But that's just pretend."

Dumbledore only smiled again at this. He'd heard it before, of course, from other muggle-born students. They were usually convinced after a demonstration, but sometimes they still chose not to go to Hogwarts. That's why he wanted to talk to Kakashi when he was still young and not yet a real shinobi; there was a better chance of him saying yes if he knew about it long enough. The last Hatake to go to Hogwarts nearly fifty years ago was known as one of the greatest magical prodigies of his time. Dumbledore was determined to get little Kakashi some wizard training, especially now that the Hatake clan had almost died out.

"Am I now?" The old wizard drew his wand, and, with a swish, turned the table between them into a wriggling brown puppy.

Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Genjutsu?" he asked.

"No, it's for real. Go on, pet him." Hesitantly, the white-haired boy got off the chair and carefully touched the dog's head. The puppy yipped and licked his hand. Then curiously, Kakashi squatted down to the dog's height and murmured to it quietly. A moment later he stood up.

"He's just a normal dog. Not a smart ninken(1) like Mommy or Tsume-obasan's dogs. But still, how did you do that?"

"Magic, Kakashi-kun. It's not just for storybooks, it's _real._ It's what turned a table into a puppy and what saved you yesterday. You have the gift of magic, and if you choose to, you can learn how to use it at my school."

The boy's eyes lit up.

"Can I do that training? I could turn all my enemies into… into squirrels and they'd all run away!" Kakashi laughed at the idea.

"Not right now. You have to be older- ten years old to go to my school." Dumbledore turned the puppy back into an end table, making the four-year-old's face fall.

"That's not fair! I'm just four, and I still go to the Academy!" The little boy pouted.

"Well, you'll have to wait to go to my school. But I really must be going now. Think about it, and when you're old enough I'll write you and ask if you still want to attend my school."

"Oh. Alright, I guess. Goodbye Dumbledore-sama."

"Goodbye, Kakashi-kun. I hope to see you again. Tell your father thank you for letting me come."

Dumbledore Apparated back into his office fully pleased with how the meeting had gone. He had put the idea of magic into Kakashi's impressionable young mind, but as much as the headmaster wanted to talk more, he kept the meeting short and didn't pressure him too much. The boy was only four, after all, barely out of toddler years. But Dumbledore had a feeling that Kakashi would accept his offer.

Which is why, six years after the meeting, he was surprised at the short answer to his letter.

_Dumbledore-san,_

_I thank you for your offer, but my village is at war and needs every man it has. Being a shinobi is too important. I cannot leave._

_Hatake Kakashi_

**/End Flashback/**

Now, finally, he had found an excuse to get Kakashi to Hogwarts for some wizard schooling, even if he was only acting as a bodyguard. Once the young shinobi realized that Harry was relatively safe in the castle, he would receive a free education almost unhindered by the mission, Harry would have extra protection from Black, Sarutobi would receive a ridiculously high mission pay, and Dumbledore would get his genius wizard.

Everyone wins. At least, that was the plan.

Sarutobi said he was worried for Kakashi in his letter. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant. After all, he was an ANBU at only thirteen. How much battle had he seen? Had he killed? As much as Dumbledore would like to respect Shinobi cultures, underage soldiers were something he could never approve of.

All he could do was help Kakashi as best he could. How bad could it really be? A little post-traumatic-stress disorder; Dumbledore could handle that. Heavens knows he'd dealt with troubled students before. A few weeks at Hogwarts and civilized society and the boy would settle down.

_Dear Sarutobi,_

_I accept your offer. Attached are travel instructions and the pay in advance. I'm sending my deputy headmistress to pick him up. I've never met any shinobi besides you or Sakumo for security reasons you know, and I won't deny that I'm excited to meet Kakashi. Don't worry about us; we can handle any problems he might have._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

* * *

><p><strong>AN- And there you go, the first chapter! Yay. Yes it was short; the other ones will be longer. It was really more of a prologue than anything. Writing from Dumbledore's POV wasn't nearly as fun as Kakashi's, which might have something to do with the length. Anyway… review! It's only one chapter, but everyone has to start somewhere. Tell me what you think of the idea, or how I did the flashback (all italics gets a little annoying, I think), or just whatever you want.**

**Oh, and ****_heck yeah_**** I just gave Kakashi Inuzuka fangs.**

(1) Ninken are ninja dogs, like Kakashi's summons and the Inuzuka's dogs.

Word count- 1,767

Review!


	2. In Which Masks Have Two Uses

Disclaimer: I am neither Rowling nor Kishimoto, so no, I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.

Wow, this story has gotten more attention than I thought it would! A big shout out to howlingwindofthestorm, tenshi-no-akuma-81, and all the other wonderful people who reviewed, alerted and favorited this story, this chapter's for you!

_A/N- Kakashi's ANBU mask is 'Inu', meaning dog. Given his summons, it makes sense._

(Note- this chapter has been edited since its original posting)

A special thanks to Sheeshasan for pointing out some mistakes!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 2: In Which Masks have Two Uses<span>**

Kakashi's muscles ached as he tree-hopped into the familiar woods outside Kohona. His mission had been difficult to say the least, and now all he wanted was a morphine drip and a hot shower. He'd been caught off guard by the two unexpected missing-nin, and apparently his employer had forgotten to mention the assassination target only twelve. Now there was just another child dead, another name to add to the list of People Hatake Kakashi Has Killed Because the Hokage Told Him To.

But, of course, he was ANBU, and these things didn't matter anymore.

The mission was a success, and none of his teammates died. That's all that mattered in the end. He supposed that he should be worried about the lack of guilt for murdering a civilian child who did nothing more than be born to the wrong parents. But he wasn't, and besides, this wasn't particularly a bad thing to ANBU Inu. Hell, if Kakashi felt guilty for every death he had caused, he'd be insane by now.

He'd seen it happen before.

Instead, assassinations had begun to bring an emptiness that made him numb, both physically and mentally. The deep kunai wound on his upper arm really should be bothering him more than it was. Kakashi put seeing a medic on his mental to-do list, right below reporting to the mission office and taking a shower. Chidori was a useful killing technique, but damn if it didn't get blood everywhere.

Through the leaves Kakashi caught a glimpse of the outer village wall. Back when he was a regular shinobi, this was about the time teams would finally relax, start talking and joking around. But this was ANBU so there was only silence. Maybe his team was a little somber, but they were alive and none of them had done anything overly stupid, and for that the ANBU captain was grateful.

Losing comrades, though most of the time it couldn't be helped, was never fun. Kakashi never wanted to admit it to himself, but it had become easier in ANBU. Maybe it was because of how often it happened, or that no ANBU tactics ever seemed to keep safety in mind, so he was in a way expected to lose agents. More likely, however, it was the masks. Whoever had come up with the animal masks was a genius. Not only did it protect the agent's identities, it preserved what was left of their captain's sanity, if and when they were killed in battle. When he'd never seen his comrade's face, or maybe never even known their real name, their deaths didn't haunt him the way others had.

But that didn't matter; ANBU needed skilled captains and Kakashi could be one. So he just kept taking missions, kept walking the tenuous line between duty to his village and his comrade's lives. When he eventually did lose one or two…well, he was getting very good at suppressing bad memories.

Heaven knows he's had enough practice.

But it was alright. With Minato-sensei had died the last person Kakashi cared about. Now all he had to concentrate on was being Inu, and the harder and more deadly the mission, the more his nightmares seemed to fade. For most it was the opposite, but for Kakashi, when his psyche was already recently traumatized, it seemed to go out of the way to prevent more damage and let him sleep. And when he didn't, well, there were always ANBU-strength sleeping pills.

Before long his team was in the village, heading for the Hokage Tower, silent as mice. The halls of the tower were mostly empty; it was the middle of the night and only sleepy-eyed secretaries and the occasional guard could be seen. No one spared them a second glance, and Kakashi's team was waved through with barely an I.D. check.

As he reached for the door handle of the Hokage's office, Kakashi's arm twinged, and suddenly gave out on him. With a muttered curse, he grasped the wound, surprised at the amount of blood that had collected down his arm without his noticing.

"You should get that looked at." Grumbled a rough voice behind him ANBU Inu blinked and stared at the white mask of Ox. In the whole week that their mission had lasted, Kakashi was sure he'd never heard Ox speak more than about three words at a time. He hadn't thought much of it before; Ox listened to orders and was damn strong, so there was no reason to complain. But it wasn't just that he had spoken a full sentence that had shocked Kakashi so much, it was the… concern in the large man's voice. Did he think he was still a kid that needed help or something ludicrous like that?

"I can look after my own wounds." He snapped, opening the door with his other arm. Bristling slightly, he even made a point of resting his weight on the injured arm as he knelt on one knee in front of the Hokage's desk, hearing the rest of his team do the same behind him.

"Team Inu, reporting, Hokage-sama." There was a rustle of papers, but Kakashi didn't look up.

"And the mission?"

"Mission successful. Target, approximately twenty guards and two missing-nin were eliminated within the timeframe, no casualties." Ah, no casualties. It had to be his favorite phrase.

"Good. You may go, all accept Inu." Kakashi stood as his teammates disappeared in a puff of smoke. The Hokage put down a scroll, sighed, and spoke.

"I know you just finished your last mission, but I'm assigning you another one now." The young ANBU grimaced, glad that his dog mask hid the emotion. Sure, he liked missions, Kami knows where he'd be without them, but sometimes he just wanted a nice quiet night of drug-induced sleep. But if the Hokage wanted him to do a mission, he would do a mission.

"Understood." The ANBU Dog answered in a deadpan. Sarutobi hesitated, never a good sign before a mission briefing.

"The mission is classified as unranked, but chances are it will end up A or B. It's… very far away. On the Outside. You have been keeping up on your English, I assume?"

"Of course. I'm being called out to deal with missing-nin." It wasn't a question. The Elemental Continent rarely if ever made contact with the Outside, but occasionally missing-nin would escape there. So a small group in ANBU was kept up who spoke the Outside's languages and knew the customs. Kakashi was chosen as the English speaker for various reasons, and it was his job to eliminate any missing-nin in the English-speaking parts of the Outside, should anyone request it.

The Sandaime hesitated. "That's… part of it. Do you remember Dumbledore-san?"

_Oh. So __that's__ what this is about._ "The old man who wanted me to become a wizard? Yes." When he was four, the idea of magic seemed amazing. But the Third had later explained that if he wanted to go to a wizard school full-time, he would most likely never reach Jonin. His father had been strangely neutral, saying that he should decide for himself when the time came. But the more he learned about wizards, the more they looked like civilians, and that was _not_ what he wanted to be. When he received the promised letter years later, the shinobi had shot it down and hadn't spared it a second thought since.

"He has requested you for a mission guarding his school." It took only a moment for it all to click in Kakashi's genius brain.

"He couldn't get me as a wizard, so he's requesting me as a shinobi. Let me guess, I'm posing as a student?" _At an unheard of mission pay, I bet._ He didn't say the last part out loud because it wasn't any of his business, but he knew it must've been a lot to buy a Black Ops captain.

"You're right as always, Kakashi." The Third chuckled.

"Please, sir, I'm Inu right now." Kakashi interrupted. Just because the Sandaime had some sort of strange desire to be everyone under eighteen's grandfather doesn't mean he was exempt from the ANBU secrecy of identities.

"Yes… of course, Inu." The Hokage coughed before continuing. "You're correct. The mission Dumbledore requested is for you to pose as a student and guard the school, in particular one boy who has been targeted by a powerful wizard named Voldemort. Knowing what I do about wizards, you should easily be able to accomplish this. But that is his part of mission. What _I'm_ assigning you is much different." Kakashi perked up a little; this sounded interesting.

"There are rumors that Voldemort has recruited some missing-nin. If they prove true, then it'll be up to you to take care of them. You are to gather as much information as you can about these wizards and any threat they might pose to us, as well as anything they have which might prove useful. The best way to do this is to play along and learn wizardry. Don't give me that look, it's part of the mission." Kakashi huffed, because there's no way the Hokage could have seen his appalled expression under his mask, or had he accidentally let off some killing intent…?

"With all respect Hokage-sama, is playing school-child really necessary?" Hatake Kakashi had spent seven months in the Kohona Ninja Academy and could only thank Kami that the Hokage had let him graduate early. It wasn't the war-torn-battlefield kind of hell, just the having-to-sit-still-bored-for-hours kind of hell. Both were unbearable, in their own way. He had no plans of going back to school anytime soon, pretend or otherwise.

"Yes! People would notice a student that never went to class. You don't really have to do the schoolwork, just get the information." Again, Kakashi was thankful for ANBU masks and their ability to hide annoyed eye-rolls.

"It's a nine-month mission. Do you accept?" The Sandiame was back to business mode.

"Of course. When do I leave?" Kakashi replied. He had yet to turn down a mission, whatever it might be. Somewhere along the line he had stopped caring. It didn't matter how long a mission was anymore, now that there wasn't someone to come home to.

"Be in my office tomorrow night, at eight. You _cannot_ be late, under any circumstances. Your transportation is time sensitive, and if you're late you can't get there at all and therefore fail the mission. Understand?" He got a nod in return. If it meant failing a mission, Kakashi would make it on time. The Hokage handed him the mission briefing, then in a puff of smoke and leaves the thirteen-year-old was gone.

.X.X.X.

Blood, Kakashi had discovered very early on, is a troublesome thing, to take a page from Nara Shikaku's book. It _stunk _to high heaven, even days after, which admittedly made it easy to track. But it was annoying as hell to clean up. The Jonin grimaced and scrubbed his white ANBU vest harder, trying to get all of the damned stuff out. _That's what I get for falling asleep before washing. _His upper arm stung painfully under the rough bandage he'd thrown around it last night- or was it this morning? Seeing a medic-nin might not be a bad idea either.

Blood, like everything else, had become just another part of Kakashi's ANBU life, like hard ration bars and nightmares and the terrifying uncaringness that he still preferred over anything else, even though he knew what it meant. That he was becoming a mindless killing tool who felt no remorse for those he murdered in cold blood.

Finally the last trace of red-brown had disappeared. Even the smell was gone thanks to a special soap he bought from the Inuzuka, the other sharp-nosed clan. He hung the vest over the lone chair in his ANBU quarters to dry. As a captain, he got a larger room, with a bed, a table and chair, _and_ a tiny kitchenette. Kakashi felt like a prince in a castle.

Not.

_Almost_ cracking a smile under his mask, he turned his attention to the rest of the clothes he'd woken up in, scrubbing them mercilessly until they were mostly clean. Unlike his vest, the blood on his black shirt and pants stained to a dark rusty brown. Tossing those on the chair with his vest, Kakashi checked the tiny clock on the wall. It was almost two in the afternoon; he'd overslept last night. He'd have to hurry if he was to prepare for such a long mission. It was the lengthiest one he'd ever been on by far, and to make it worse there was nowhere to restock any of his ninja supplies on the Outside.

As the ANBU got in the shower, he made one of his mental to-do lists. He'd had to buy some more storage scrolls if he was going to get everything he needed into one pack. Minato-sensei had taught him some sealing jutsu and Kakashi, with practice, had become adept at simple supply sealing jutsu. Then he needed to buy more ration bars and food pills, get his hands on some winter clothing, clean and sharpen his katana, take stock on all his extra weapons, visit the memorial stone… he felt tired just thinking about it. On top of all that he had to move out of his apartment, standard procedure for any mission lasting more than three months.

_No time like the present, I suppose. _Stepping out of the shower, the thirteen-year-old ANBU pulled on some clean clothes and began his sizeable mission preparations.

.X.X.X.X.

"I'm going on a mission today. You'd laugh if you saw it, Obito. Somewhere on the Outside there's a place with magic." Kakashi snorted. "Yeah. I know. Like from kid's books. The best part is my white chakra is a magic-chakra hybrid of some sort, so the Hokage told me I have to become a _wizard._ You know, to get information about them. But there are also some missing-nins around there, so at least I won't be as bored. Anyway… I just came to say it's a nine-month long mission, so I won't be able to visit. Sorry. I'll make a memorial there, and visit you all every day, I swear."

Coming to the memorial stone and talking to people that were dead might not be _completely _healthy, but it made Kakashi feel better. Just talking, telling Obito and Rin and Minato-sensei about his day... sometimes it was like they were still alive.

"Well, goodbye, for a while." He mumbled awkwardly. Instead of going straight to the Hokage's tower, he found himself heading slightly south, towards the shinobi cemetery. _I guess Dad wants me to say goodbye, too._ It took a while to find his parent's headstones in the uniform rows of the shinobi cemetery, but eventually he remembered where they were. It had been a while since Kakashi had visited them. He didn't talk to his parents like at the memorial stone. Kakashi just traced the stone words, first on his father's grave, then his mother's. Ever since Obito, Kakashi had at least partially forgiven his father for what he'd done, and started visiting his parent's graves more often. His mother had died of sickness when he was young; the least traumatic death of those close to him, so visiting her was relatively painless. Then, pausing to brush a leaf off his mother's headstone, the thirteen-year-old started to the Hokage's tower.

.X.X.X.X.

"A cup?" Kakashi said, doubtful. "How is that transportation?" Turning a table into a stupid dog was one thing. A cup somehow transporting him to another continent was another story. At first the ANBU had been curious about the 'time sensitive transportation'; he'd even arrived _early _(Translation: on time), for Kami's sake. Somewhere, Asuma and Gai must be having a good laugh at his expense.

Sarutobi chuckled. "I would love to know. This western magic works in odd ways. Of course, part of your mission is to find out things like that." Kakashi nodded, he had read as much in the mission briefing. Even Konoha, which had more information on wizards than anywhere else combined, had little on the subject. He was still suspicious of the cup, but the ANBU kept his mouth shut.

"All of the information you need is in the mission file. I expect a report every two weeks. Oh, and," The Hokage handed Kakashi the cup, "You can imagine how quickly war would break out if too many wizards began hiring shinobi. Complete the mission, but… don't make them too eager to hire you back. Maybe throw around a little killing intent."

"Killing intent? Hokage-sama, if you wanted me to scare the hell out of the client, you could have just asked." The last thing Kakashi heard was the Sandaime's laughter before there was a nauseating yank in his stomach and the world spun.

.X.X.X.X.

The first thing Kakashi did when he fell into this new world was curse. The… whatever that had been had completely thrown off his balance, and he ended up falling on his injured arm, reopening the wound.

In the next instant Kakashi was on his feet registering another person near him, and instinctively put his katana to their throat, not quite drawing blood, in case they weren't an enemy. Keeping in mind what the Sandaime said, he didn't make any sort of effort to reign in his killing intent.

"Who are you?" the ANBU barked in English, as he rose to his feet and got a look at his captive. She was an older woman, with glasses and graying hair pulled into a strict bun. Whether or not she was his employer's contact was yet to be seen. Whatever that- what had the Hokage called it, portkey?- was, he didn't like it. Kakashi wasn't even sure if he was in the right place; the room he ended up in had no windows or clues about where he was. For all he knew, this was all a setup and he had walked straight into an ambush.

"P-Professor Minerva McGonagall." The woman stuttered, giving off mountains of sour fear-scent. _Must be a civilian- wait, what is wrong with her chakra signature?_ He was no sensor-nin, but at this range there was no mistaking it. The woman's faint chakra signature was unlike any he had ever encountered. It almost resembled his white chakra, but seemed… hollow, somehow. Was it some sort of kekkei genkai?

"That is the name of the person I meet." He stated, but didn't lower his sword. "But that does not mean you are that person." Maybe he was being a little paranoid, but in a situation like this it was best to be careful.

"You want-proof? I was sent here by Dumbledore to pick up someone from the Hidden Continent by the name of Kakashi Hatake. Are you him?" The woman stuck her chin in the air in an attempt to regain her dignity. The scent of fear on her ruined the effect.

Kakashi considered everything that he'd heard and noticed for a moment, and decided that there was a very high chance that this 'McGonagall' was not an imposter. If he was, in fact walking into an ambush it probably would have happened by now. He also concluded that the odd chakra he sensed was because the woman was a wizard, and it's similarity to white chakra was more proof that his chakra was related to magic. Slowly he drew back the sword and sheathed it underneath his white ANBU captain's cloak.

"Yes, but 'Inu' is my name now. You take me to Dumbledore." The woman hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded and opened the wooden door behind her. Amazingly, it was broad daylight outside, even though the sun had been near setting in Kohona. Was this the time change the mission report had mentioned? It was colder, too, than it should be for late summer. The tiny room he had appeared in turned out to be a wooden house on a grassy hill just outside of a small village.

The witch and the black-ops ninja walked in silence to the edge of the town.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

Minerva McGonagall was not entirely sure what to think about Dumbledore's new "_security measure"._ He'd asked her to go pick up the foreign "guard", he'd called him, in the portkey house just outside of Hogsmeade, but hadn't given much more information than that. Over the years she'd grown used to the old wizard's odd ways, but this was ridiculous. McGonagall was a woman who prided herself on having information, in fact, the sorting hat had nearly put her into Ravenclaw for the trait. But all the elusive Headmaster had told her was the man's name and that he was some sort of Auror from the Hidden Continent. Not much was known about the place to her annoyance, just that it was a little outside of Japan and shrouded in the most powerful Unplottable spells wizard-kind had ever seen.

Because of their isolation cultural differences were to be expected, but this was out of line. Kakashi Hatake, or for some reason, Inu, had burst out of the portkey and put a sword to her neck. A _sword_! In all honesty she had expected to die right then and there, but by some miracle the strange man had believed she was not a threat and backed off. As Deputy Headmistress and teacher at Hogwarts, McGonagall had seen a lot of odd things, but right now Inu was at the top of the list.

It seemed everything about him was different, from his white hair and accented speech to the hellish animal mask that she had no idea what to make of. The only not-appalling thing about Inu was his creamy full length cloak with a deep hood. Once the witch had caught a glimpse of a black and gray outfit under the cloak, but it was too brief to tell if it was as weird as the rest of him.

"What is the village name?" McGonagall jumped in surprise at Inu's _almost_ passable English. For a moment she thought his voice sounded young, but the witch quickly dismissed the thought as her imagination. Sure, Inu was short, but not all adults were tall, and she would never offend a guest like that. No child could ever be like _this_.

"Hogsmeade. And you'll have to take that," She gestured to his mask, "off if you don't want to start a riot. We don't trust people with masks here."

"Go to Dumbledore. I will follow in town and not be seen." And the mysterious man made some sort of sign language with one hand and vanished in a puff of white smoke. No crack of Apparation, or even a wand out for a spell.

What, exactly, was Inu?

* * *

><p><strong>And there we go! How did you all like it?<strong>

**A/N- **

In this story Kakashi is a year younger than in Naruto cannon, so he could be the same age as Harry. It's not a big deal, but remember that he was twelve for "Kakashi Gaiden", and thirteen for the Kyuubi attack. This story takes place the year after all that (and Rin's death) happened.

Harry Potter might have more significant changes, but I'll keep the changes minor as far as the plot goes. Don't worry, you won't be seeing any Horcruxes. Maybe some Occlumency, but that's about it.

**Note on scene changes-**

For the rest of the story

.X.X.X.X.X.

Means a scene change, and

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf **

Means a point of view change.

(The POV change was inspired by my favorite author(s) TwinTrouble. Check out their stories!)

**Fun Fact!** ANBU captains actually wear white cloaks in Naruto. But actually looking at them, the sleeve design they have makes no sense. Google "Naruto ANBU cloak" to see what I mean. Seriously- "Hey guy that's about to kill me, wait for a second for me to unbutton my really cool ANBU cloak so I can reach _any_ of my weapons." Kakashi's in this looks a lot like the cloak the 8-man 'Search for Itachi' squad wears, but plain white and without the designs. You know, the one that makes any sense?

Word count- 4,340


	3. In Which Age is Not An Issue

**Disclaimer: Own it? No. Love it? YES**

**A/N **Sooooo sorry about the wait, this chapter was like pulling teeth. Wow! So many reviews, alerts, and favs, and I'm only on chapter three! They really do mean the world to writers. I was having a really tough time with this chapter (Intros are never super fun) and reviews were the main thing keeping me updating. Each one was like a kick in the ass for me to keep writing. Really, I think I've read all of them what, 5 times? Each? So thank you!

**A/N **Yes, Kakashi has very good English. That's Sharingan+ genius brain+ no social life for you. But I tried to make some of what he says a little awkward and weird sounding, to keep things realistic. Japanese and English are very, very different, so he won't be perfect, but I think reading and writing accents can get very annoying so I won't be doing that. And besides I don't think Kakashi would stand for failing at a language for very long.

_ "Talking Japanese" _

_Thoughts, emphasis, etc…_

"Talking English!"

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 3: In Which Age is Not an Issue<span>**

Hogsmeade was different, to say the least. Its squat wooden buildings lay in a messy row along the main street, which was populated by pedestrians and a broom that swept up dirt without any apparent explanation for its movement. Strange smells leaked out of doorways like a sickness, cloying the air with a sickly sweet scent, tanged with the burning, almost imperceptible smell of magic.

But even more foreign were the people. They all wore the wizard clothing that he remembered from Dumbledore's visit long ago, just without the hideous colors. Kakashi crouched a little lower on a high rooftop where he was perched, being careful not to be seen, yet doubting any of these civilians were smart enough to look up. The shingles felt rickety under his feet- obviously not built for the heavy foot traffic of shinobi.

Ghosting along rooftops and through back alleyways, Kakashi kept an eye on his contact as she stiffly navigated the streets, throwing glances over her shoulder a little too often. Obito's uncovered eye however was fixed on the glowing _thing_ in her pocket. Sharingan, given, couldn't see through objects like its rivaled Byakugan. But the amount of chakra the thing put off made it half visible even through the material of the woman's dress. Was this a wand? If it was, the Jonin really needed a closer look at the tool. He'd seen a lot of things in his life, but never had he heard of an inanimate object putting out its own chakra signature, even if it was small. McGonagall herself on the other hand had the chakra flow of a corpse. He couldn't see chakra pathways, but his Sharingan showed the woman glowed dully with white magic that had no movement _at all_. There wasn't even a chakra core. By any thinking, she should be dead or dying.

It must be the wand, he decided. Somehow the wand amplified the little amount of magic wizards had. But then why did the wand give off chakra, if all it did was amplify? The wizards certainly had some explaining to do.

The woman soon made it to the edge of the town. Kakashi waited until she was out of sight of the village, and then approached her from behind, making sure that even a civilian could hear his footsteps. He'd probably already scared the woman enough. It was almost too easy to intimidate his contact; witches were apparently made of different stuff than kunoichi.

"McGonagall-san, how far is Hogwarts?" Kakashi asked. The witch jumped and spun around.

_Note to self: Wizards have even worse hearing than normal civilians._

"When did you-? It's just over this hill." The woman smoothed her skirt and kept walking, clearly miffed. Kakashi followed, wondering at what kind of place Hogwarts would be. Like the Dayanimo's castle, he assumed. He hoped they at least had the sense to put up some sort of defense. Judging from what he had seen so far his hopes weren't high.

That thought in mind, Kakashi was not prepared for the intense wall of pure _chakra_ that hit him a moment later. He jumped back a good twenty feet, kunai already in hand, alert for enemies. But there were none. Warily, he crept forward until he hit the wall again. The energy prickled at his skin almost painfully. _Is this a barrier?_ Maybe the wizards weren't as useless as he thought.

The woman, McGonagall, noticed his absence after a few moments and hurried back, stopping just short of the edge of the barrier.

"Is something the matter… Inu?" she asked.

"This is a barrier?" Kakashi held his palm just short of it, trying to detect even a trace of chakra emanating off it, but he could feel nothing until about a half inch before the surface of the chakra. It was amazing; usually strong barriers like this gave off so much chakra that any shinobi could detect them a good ten feet away.

"There's a barrier around here that protects the school, yes. You mean you can see it?" McGonagall asked.

The ANBU shook his head but didn't elaborate. She really couldn't feel _anything_? McGonagall hesitated again, but opted to just keep walking and leave him to figure out the barrier by himself. Not able to help himself, Kakashi uncovered his Sharingan.

The light was blinding. For as far as he could see on either side, the dome of white energy shone like the sun. Again, it wasn't normal chakra. The Sharingan gave color to chakra, and each person had a slightly different hue. Sometimes trained shinobi could see it, but only when an extremely dense amount was being molded, or in jutsu like his chidori or Sensei's rasengan. Most of the time chakra was blue, but not always. Wizard chakra was white. Whiter than his was, actually. Hatake White Chakra was actually more of a white-blue, only shining pure white when the chakra sabre was used.

Kakashi covered his Sharingan, braced himself, and walked straight through the barrier. It was only a few inches thick, but the split second he was inside was an unbearable sensory overload. He felt more than a bit ruffled, but the first rule of an escort or guard mission was to always appear capable and in control, so the ANBU caught up with McGonagall without comment.

When the mission report said that Hogwarts was a castle, it wasn't exaggerating. The school was huge, and Kakashi could only assume there was more hidden underground. There was a large lake and a forest that edged one side of the property. They entered through an unnecessarily elaborate main entryway (it's _just_ a school), and made their way through so many hallways even Kakashi had a hard time keeping his sense of direction. The task was made even more difficult by the very distracting… talking portraits. Kakashi wasn't even sure how he should _react_ to that. ANBU never taught how to respond when an inanimate object spoke to you. So he took the safest route- he simply ignored them.

Finally McGonagall paused in front of a golden statue. Kakashi was thankful; the place was getting on his nerves. The next non-living object that spoke to him was going to get a kunai in its… canvas? (How was he supposed to kill something that wasn't even alive?) The throbbing pain that had started in his arm wasn't helping his mood either. If he didn't re-bandage it soon the blood was going to start staining his cloak.

"Chocolate frogs," said McGonagall. Kakashi blinked in surprise. Was she actually insane? But then the statue began to move, revealing a hidden staircase. So it was a password.

The staircase twisted upward on its own, and Kakashi stiffened, shinobi instincts sharp. Somehow it also ended up not being a trap, just more wizards-using-jutsu-to-be-lazy. It was truly amazing how much time they spent using jutsu that accomplished absolutely nothing. McGonagall knocked at the dark wooden door at the top and went in, Kakashi right behind.

The room they entered was so thick with chakra Kakashi almost choked. Shelves and cabinets lined the walls, each one filled with trinkets and odd little devices. More talking portraits hung on the walls, their occupants glaring at him with suspicion or anger. Kakashi decided to stick with his plan of pretending they didn't exist.

And in the middle of the odd room, behind a large cluttered desk not dissimilar to the Hokage's, sat Dumbledore himself. It'd been roughly a decade since Kakashi had last seen him and honestly, not much had changed. Same God-awful clothes (purple with gold stars), same ridiculously long beard, even the glasses were the same.

"Dumbledore-sama" ANBU Inu bowed.

"Kakashi, welcome to Hogwarts. I trust your trip went well? No problems?"

"It was well, Dumbledore-sama. We should discuss the mission before anything else." Dumbledore was taken aback, and though he tried to cover it up- Kakashi was trained to notice these things.

"Why, can't that wait until tonight, after a nap, maybe some dinner?"

"No."

Dumbledore sighed.

"Minerva, go fetch the rest of the staff, will you?"

"Dumbledore, are you sure-" McGonagall started, but the old wizard halted her with a hand.

"I'm fine Minerva, me and Mr. Hatake are old friends, aren't we?"

"Our meeting ten years ago was very short, Dumbledore-sama." Kakashi deadpanned. What part of "business" did this man not understand? It's as if he thought the ANBU was on vacation or something. Maybe there were other motives behind Dumbledore hiring him, but a mission was a mission.

After McGonagall left, Dumbledore motioned for the shinobi to sit in a red velvet armchair with a high back. Kakashi obeyed, ignoring the way his tanto and ANBU katana dug uncomfortably into his back. The old wizard and young ninja studied each other for a moment until Dumbledore spoke.

"So, Kakashi, is that your uniform? For this 'ANBU'? I hope you know that you will have to wear the Hogwarts uniform this year. Clothes like that will seem very… out of the ordinary here."

"It are not normal for civilians in Kohona, also." The ANBU was stone-faced under his many masks.

"Would you be so kind as to remove your mask?" Dumbledore prompted. Knowing it was coming sooner or later, Kakashi removed his Dog mask and stowed it in a pocket on his pack made just for that purpose.

"… And the other one?" eased Dumbledore, sounding somewhat like the old man was trying to coax a wild animal out of its hiding place.

_Damn._ Kakashi cursed in his head. His mask was such a normal part of his life he'd completely forgotten about it. Of course a civilian student had no reason for a facemask! How could he be so brainless and think he could keep his? This, along with his eye, was why he'd never done any major undercover work. But almost no one had seen his face since his father had… done what he did.

Kakashi tightened his grip on the edge of his chair, which only made his arm bleed more. There was no way out; he was going to have to take it off. But, maybe there was some way Dumbledore could make an exception, say he had a horrific scar, or-

"If you don't want to, you don't have to, Kakashi." The shinobi blinked in surprise. What did he just say?

"It would compromise the mission if-" He began stiffly, hating every word, but the old wizard cut him off.

"Nonsense, a simple spell could turn attention from it." Dumbledore took out a stick and pointed it at Kakashi's face. Realizing a split second too late that the stick was a wand and a weapon, the shinobi tried to block it with a kunai while instinctively jumping out of the way of the assumed attack. He landed a few feet to left and behind his chair, a new kunai in his hand.

Dumbledore jumped, but again recovered quickly. "I'm sorry I surprised you, Kakashi. I meant no harm. I was simply preforming a small ward spell on your mask- it's harmless." The ANBU lowered his knife and stored it in his leg pouch.

_Damn, this place is making me jumpy._

"I apologize, Dumbledore-sama. That _is_ the wizard weapon?" He might've tried a fake eye-smile, but Kakashi had the feeling it wouldn't work on a man like Dumbledore, who was reminding him more of a softer Third Hokage every minute.

"Yes, this is a wand. Every witch and wizard has one, and we are quite helpless without it. But they are not used only as weapons, as in your culture."

"Kohona have healing jutsu, too." Said Kakashi dryly, moving to pick up his fallen kunai. Why did he feel the need to defend his way of life from an Outsider? It was completely irrational. The peace-loving wizards had no business with the Shinobi Continent anywa-

He dropped the kunai.

The oddity of it was what surprised him. Kakashi, as the son of the White Fang, had been handling weapons since before he could walk. Inuzuka Tsume still claimed that he had teethed on a blunted kunai (no way to prove her wrong, he supposed). Even with his injured arm, Hatake Kakashi didn't go dropping weapons like some clumsy Academy student.

The shinobi regarded the offending piece of metal, and then reached to lift it-

Maybe he was wrong about Dumbledore being just like the Sadiame. The Third never kept such a disorganized desk. It was scattered with rolls of parchment and several other random objects, a wooden box, a cup of feather pens-

_"What the hell?"_ Kakashi muttered to himself. Why couldn't he pick the damn thing up? Every time he tried, his mind wandered somewhere else. The kunai seemed to mock him from its place on the red velvet chair.

"I must have hit it with my spell," said Dumbledore, somehow making his voice emanate good-nature. "This is what I was trying to do to your mask, Kakashi. This spell prevents one from noticing a place or object. The same spell, albeit much stronger, surrounds the school to prevent any muggles from wandering in."

_"Genjutsu?"_ The Jonin wondered aloud, and felt that he was correct. The room was so dense with magic he hadn't recognize the signature before, but now he sensed the bit of magic clinging to his kunai. Well, if it was only a genjutsu, he should be able to dispel it. With one hand and a '_kai_' the kunai was free of the magic and flipped expertly back into his weapons pouch.

"Smart, but shinobi can stop a genjutsu. Now," said Kakashi, sitting back down, "we discuss the mission before the teachers come. I need file of the boy, his enemies, staff, and anyone important in school. A map of the school also, and information on the "Black" traitor. And I need a cover identity."

"Whoa, whoa. One thing at a time," chuckled Dumbledore. "First, let me spell your mask." The old wizard pointed his wand at Kakashi's face, and mumbled a word. His mask felt warm for a second then the sensation faded. "We don't keep as detailed files as you do- it's just grades and a disciplinary record mostly. I can get them for you, though I assure you everyone in the school is trustworthy. Information on Black is everywhere in the news, but I can get you the official Auror report. A map of the school is difficult, because it's always changing. It's best to just learn its ways by memory."

_The school… changing? _Kakashi decided that he should just stop being surprised.

"And a false identity?" Kakashi prodded, happy that they were finally getting somewhere. He really needed to check on his arm soon. The pain was distracting and grated on his nerves almost as badly as the density of the magic in the room.

"Already written up. You are a foreign exchange student from Japan's magic academy Mahoutokoro, here to study Western magic, which is slightly different from your own. You are in your third year with Mr. Potter, your charge. He is supposed to be your 'guide' to Hogwarts, so you can take his same classes and room with him without suspicion."

"Reasonable," mused Kakashi. Maybe some of what they did was stupid, but apparently wizards came through sometimes.

"Do I tell Potter the truth about why I'm here? Or cover story?"

"You can tell him as much as you see fit. He has a record of getting into things he shouldn't anyway, what's one more secret?" Dumbledore laughed again. Kakashi didn't bother to mention that whatever trouble the kid had gotten into before, it could never compare to what would happen if he poked his nose too far into a shinobi's business. He wouldn't tell Potter much; just enough to keep him from asking too many questions, questions that could start a war if they weren't careful.

"Why is your eye covered?" Asked Dumbledore suddenly.

"Lost in battle." Came the short answer. Automatically, he reached up to touch his forehead protector, as if to make sure it was still covering Obito's eye. If at any time it became necessary to tell Dumbledore about his eye, then he would. At least it was easier to explain than his mask.

"And your arm?" pressed the old wizard. Kakashi inwardly cursed; he'd accidentally shown his bandage when he touched his eye. It was getting tiring, making excuses for his entire appearance. Ninja never questioned things like that; it was his own business if he wanted to wear a mask, and his alone. Wizards apparently didn't place the same value in the concept of _personal boundaries._

"Flesh wound. Not serious."

"You should see our school nurse. She can fix you up in a-"

"I can look after my own wounds." A sense of déjà vu washed over him; that was the same thing he said to Ox, just the day before in a different language about the same little cut. Why did everyone care so much about something so insignificant?

Dumbledore looked like he was going to protest for a moment, but Kakashi gave him his best 'lay off it' stare he could manage and the wizard sighed and left it. Good. Kakashi couldn't stand medics; they reminded him too much of- well, this wasn't the best time to start thinking about Rin.

"What security do you have already?" The Jonin continued, happy to change the subject.

"We already have extensive barriers around the school," Kakashi nodded, he'd figured that one out for himself, "but the ministry is sending in Dementors- the guards of the prison Black escaped from- to the perimeter of the school to capture Black. I tried to tell them that I already hired protection, but-"

"Yes. I appreciate the _help,_ Dumbledore-sama." The shinobi hoped that Dumbledore understood what he was implying; that yes, he did know he wasn't actually here to guard Potter, and no, he didn't trust nor would he work with anything from the Wizarding world. Not if he could help it at least. Besides, part of his mission _was_ to be difficult to work with. Maybe accepting help from wizards was more logical, but he was willing to do anything, _anything_ to prevent another war. Compared to that, the inconvenience of not working with probably-useless-anyway wizard prison guards was nothing. But either Dumbledore wasn't quite as smart as Kakashi thought he was, or he chose not to acknowledge the double meaning of his words. The Jonin was willing to bet on the latter.

"And if I see Black?" he continued.

"He has a death warrant, but-"

"So I should kill him." Kakashi gave him a flat stare.

"Heavens, no! I could never ask you to do something like that!" said Dumbledore, appalled.

"Perhaps you misunderstand, Dumbledore-sama, but I am an assassin." Kakashi said, deadpanning.

"Yes…" Dumbledore looked away. "Yes, of course. How silly of me. You are a prodigy, after all. I'm sure your village wanted to put your talent to… use." The old wizard kept his ever-present smile, but it didn't reach his voice, or his eyes.

Kakashi was actually used to that reaction. What bothered him was the possibility that Dumbledore had hired him without even investigating him first. Who _does_ that? Inviting random ninja into his office before checking them- was Dumbledore _trying_ to be assassinated?

"Dumbledore-" The shinobi halted, pricking his ears for what he was mostly sure he had just heard. Yes, there it was again, the scuff of a shoe on stone floor and an indistinguishable mumble. Damn, there was so much magic in the air he hadn't even sensed McGonagall arrive. And now he didn't even know how much she had heard. Hopefully not the part about him being an assassin, but somehow he doubted he got that lucky.

_"Dumbledore-sama, you need to be more cautious with who you hire. I could easily have been an imposter sent here to kill you, and you invited me in without so much as a background check."_ It was nice to be able to speak his own language for a little bit, even if he only did so to foil the eavesdroppers he knew were right outside the door.

_"And we should invite your staff in. They have been listening in for a minute or so, I think. Your security needs to be upgraded if you can't even stop an eavesdropper."_

_"I'm sorry, you may be right. I just didn't think that such measures were necessary here. Go let them in, please." _Dumbledore answered in the same language.

_"Don't tell them much. I need them to at least part-way trust me or this is going to be more difficult than it needs to be. Make our culture seem less shocking to them, if you can. You and McGonagall-san should know the whole story, but not the others."_

Kakashi opened the office door, and was met with more than one classic hand-in-the-cookie-jar face. McGonagall was the first to recover, attempting to discreetly put away her wand before he noticed- a useless gesture, really.

"I'm sorry, Dumbledore, I-" She stopped, looking around the office. "Where is Hatake, I mean, Inu? And who is this boy?"

"McGonagall-san, I go by 'Kakashi Hatake' for the rest of the school year." The shinobi gave the witch one of his fake eye-smiles, hoping that she would get the message. He had acted normally before, but in front of others he needed to keep his cover. "Excuse the…" He paused a second, thinking of the word, "formalities. Now I am just a student." He kept his tone light for the sake of the new people entering the room; only McGonagall and Dumbledore needed to know about his ANBU mask. The sudden change should be enough to confuse the witch into silence for now. Really, he just needed someone besides Dumbledore on the inside who wouldn't attack him in his ANBU gear. He was, after all, undercover from this point on; the mission officially started when he met with Dumbledore.

McGonagall stuttered a reply. "But he, he is just a boy! And he had a swo-"

"Minerva." Dumbledore interrupted, and mentally Kakashi thanked him for the save. "Now that the whole staff is here, we can explain the situation."

While the others talked, Kakashi was studying the staff as they entered and committing them to memory, not that they were that hard to forget. There was a plump old lady dusted with dirt, a tall dark-haired man, and a woman with huge glasses who reeked of perfume. Then there was another who was not… really a human being. It was tiny, with wrinkled skin and small beady eyes. No one else seemed to notice, but it took a majority of Kakashi's willpower not to outright stare at the thing. Then, somehow, it got even better. Right through a wall literally _flew_ in a semi-visible, translucent old man. Ghost was the only word he had for it. But Dumbledore started introducing all of the 'staff' to him, so he just decided to just pretend that a ghost and an elf didn't just walk into what he _thought_ was a room of (mostly) sane individuals. He gave a short bow to everyone, the names somehow very easy to put to faces. The chakra signatures were difficult, but he'd worry about that later.

"Now, onto business!" annouced Dumbledore cheerily, as if he were about to describe his plans for a pleasant dinner party.

"Kakashi Hatake here is going to be an exchange student this year at Hogwarts. The first one in, oh, it's had to have been forty or fifty years now! The last one was your grandfather, correct?"

"Grandfather's brother." The young Jonin didn't want to get onto the subject of the _other_ disgraced member of the Hatake clan. His great uncle had chosen to live on the Outside instead of in the then-newly-formed Hidden Leaf Village, and had been labeled one of the first ever missing-nin.

"Yes, that's right. Mr. Hatake is from the Hidden Continent to the East, and is part of the only known magical family from there."

"The Hidden Continent?" snickered the greasy-haired man, Snape. "That is only a myth."

"A well-protected place, Severus, but very real. There are so many ancient barrier spells and mysterious magic surrounding the Continent, we are not sure if it's only the most concealed place known to wizard-kind, or a different plane of dimension entirely. Very, very few wizards have ever made contact with it. We are extremely lucky to have someone from there come to Hogwarts to learn magic."

"Learn magic? Do you mean he is untrained?" asked McGonagall. "But I saw him use it!"

"_Shushin no jutsu_ is not magic, Ms. McGonagall. My village has different magic, called _jutsu._ I know my _jutsu_, but not yours."

"Not only is Kakashi skilled in his type of magic, he's already graduated, and is the Hidden Continent's equivalent of an Auror," continued Dumbledore.

"An Auror!" exclaimed a woman who had to be a nurse, judging by the smell of disinfectant on her. "But he's so young!"

"We are different from wizards. We go to an 'Auror' school when seven years old, and start apprenticeship at twelve. It is normal." Beforehand he'd tried to find a way to word shinobi training so it didn't alarm the wizards, and it looked like it was working.

"But if you only apprentice at twelve, how are you already a full-fledged Auror?" pressed McGonagall. The woman was too nosy for her own good, Kakashi made a note to keep an eye on that. Thankfully, Dumbledore saved him from having to try and sell his "was in the military at five" situation to a room of overly protective, civilian adults.

"Kakashi is a special case; a prodigy, actually. His father, also a successful shinobi, as they call Auors there, recognized his talent and began teaching him when he was very young. As a result, he was able to enter school at four and graduate at five, a record for the time. He began his apprenticeship shortly after, albeit very sheltered. Since then he has become a full shinobi."

_Couldn't have put it more sugar-coated myself._ The thirteen-year-old decided, even though he hadn't understood all of what Dumbledore had said. But it was alright, he'd become fluent soon with all the English speaking he was doing.

"The point," Kakashi went on, "is it is good for a trained person to be close to the boy that is targeted. Potter is his name? I am here to study, but I can defend also."

"That's unnecessary. We are capable of handling our own problems," scoffed a teacher.

"Not just Black and wizards. There are others from Hidden Continent like me here. They are criminals who escaped here. They can defeat wizards, easy. If you see one, do not fight- run away. I will handle it. If there are too many, I can call my village for reinforcements." The last part was a lie; Konohan military power was at an all-time low. He had no right to ask for anyone else.

"Dumbledore, you can't honestly approve of this? Allowing a boy to fight?"

Kakashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "It is not a problem of age, Ms. McGonagall. Our jutsu are just very effective against wizard spells. You would not win. Maybe if very lucky, but it too dangerous."

"Are you implying, Mr. Hatake, that spells are too weak to defeat these shinobi? And that you, a _child_, stand a better chance against them than a wizard who's been fighting since before you were born? We wizards can take care of ourselves; don't insult us by implying otherwise." Snape huffed.

"Wizards are not weak, but they cannot beat a shinobi_._ Shinobi_,_ we too fast to be hit. We train…" he trailed off. Damn language, what was 'physically' again? "We train with body. We get fast, too fast for you to hit. It is not your mistake." Snape still looked insulted. What did he want him to say? _Oh sure, just go up against A-ranked missing nin, I'm sure you'll do fine?_ No. If what the reports on wizards said was true, and so far he had been given no reason to believe otherwise, they'd be dead before they hit the ground, let alone throw one of their slow, predictable spells.

"Dumbledore, as you know we are already measures against Black. This is unnecessary and unethical," continued Snape, his words punctuated with disapproval.

Mutters of agreement went up among the group of adults.

"He's only a boy, Dumbledore!"

"Not even a wizard…"

It was odd. At home, really the only people who commented this much on his age were enemies, and then it was only to insult him. Everyone noticed that he was rather young, of course, but nobody really _cared_ anymore_._

"Age is not a problem, I said. Really, I was an adult when I was six. It is unusual, but I'm used to this. Don't worry."

"You're missing the point! Children shouldn't even _have_ to fight in the first place!" insisted McGonagall. Kakashi sighed, this was getting tiresome. He was tired, his shoulder hurt and all the unfamiliar magic-chakra grated on his nerves like fucking sandpaper.

"Look. How old I am doesn't matter. It matters if I can protect this school. I can. What matters is if I can defeat any criminal shinobi, or Black if he comes, and I can. What matters is if I can pass as a student, and I can _because_ of my age. Konoha could sent someone else, but I am only one who can do magic in my village, so it is luck that everything turned out good, right? Now just _deal._"

Stunned silence followed. Damn, had they really never been told off in their life? He'd had lectures from Minato-sensei twice as bad and he never just sat there like a dumbass.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Well this is all very educational, but who feels like lunch?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN- **How's it going so far? Did it seem choppy anywhere? I've edited it since its first posting, but I never know unless you tell me! As for pairings… I'm going to get into that later. I'm a KakashiXRin fanatic, but seeing as she's dead… (For the love of GOD not KakaIru, who even came up with that?!) Because they're all so young, it's going to be more of a grade school crush kind of thing. It'll be fun!

**A/N ****_Note on Kakashi's mask-_**Some crossovers have everyone ignore or accept Kakashi's mask. That doesn't make much sense to me. Imagine if a kid came to your school wearing a mask? It would be a big deal even in a place like Hogwarts. Other stories, to get around this, cut out the mask completely which I also don't like. Kakashi without a mask is like Naruto without orange, Edward without his braid, L without insomnia, or Natsu without his scarf! So I compromised. Basically the spell is supposed to make people not spare his mask a second thought. They'll notice it, but it's not something you would bring up or think about later. Everyone wins!

Word Count- 5,578


	4. Of War And Politics

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter and I'm not making any money off this. Clearly.

**A/N Sorry this update took so long. It can be a "start of winter break" present!**

(This chapter has been edited since its original posting)

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 4: Of War and Politics<span>**

Honestly, Kakashi wasn't sure how he even ended up in this situation. It was supposed to be a simple guard and hunting mission. Kill the missing-nin, don't kill the kid, prevent world war- easy stuff. But if Hatake Kakashi was _not_ one thing, it was a socialite. The sit-and-talk aspect of war was really better left to the politicians. Sure, the Jonin knew he would have to do some talking eventually, but he was sure he could handle it. The White Fang hadn't raised him in a barn after all- he wouldn't screw up _very_ badly. He just hadn't expected the wizards to be so damn _nosy._

For some reason, he had been under the impression that he would be expected to do what he normally did on this kind of mission- show up and kill on demand. It worked at home. Here Kakashi just had to play too many roles. He was an ambassador, undercover agent, assassin, and bodyguard all rolled into one. On top of all that, apparently a thirteen year old acting like an adult scared the wizards, so sometimes Kakashi had to consciously dumb down what he said. Logically, they should really be concerned if he _did_ act his age considering the fact that their lives were more or less in his hands.

But by far the worst part was that if he failed this mission, it would do more than kill his charge- it might start a war. Battles had been started over less. The boy was important, apparently, and if he died because of a shinobi's mistake the whole Hidden Continent could be in danger. But, that would only happen if wizards thought that they could win a battle against shinobi, and that the Hidden Continent was worth conquering. That was the crux- even if he did complete his mission, if the wrong people took an interest in him and his homeland they might decide to start a war anyway.

For one of the first times in his life, Hatake Kakashi freely admitted to himself that he was not cut out for his mission. The missing-nin and protection part he could handle, but the politics? The smallest mistake, one comment, one slip of the tongue could spell disaster. What he needed was someone intelligent, strong, friendly, and who knew their way around in a political atmosphere. But, Minato-sensei was already… he shook the thought away. No. He would have to handle this on his own, somehow.

It really was the damn wizard's fault for not trusting anyone without their "special little bloodline". Kakashi was only allowed into their country because he could use magic, even though there were many other people more fit for the job. It reminded him of the stuck up Uchihas. (_Sorry, Obito_, he mentally apologized, even though he knew that his friend would agree with him on that matter.) They'd had a fit when they found out Kakashi possessed a Sharingan, and even tried to charge him with stealing Obito's eye. In the end it was Rin's testimony that saved him, but the hatred the Uchihas had for him remained.

But there was nothing to be done. Wizards, like Uchihas, were narrow-minded about some things and that's all there was to it. A four man squad would be nice, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"So Kakashi, how is Hizuren? Is your village doing well?" Dumbledore said, breaking the silence of the lunch table.

"The Hokage and the village is good." Kakashi said shortly, picking at his food. Dumbledore obviously was trying to make him feel at home by serving Asian foods.

"Village?" inquired Snape. Already Kakashi didn't like the man much; first he blew up at him in the office, now he was glaring at him from across the table. That and Snape had a strong, strange scent all over him that the sharp-nosed shinobi couldn't even begin to describe.

"Village is where I live. _Hokage_ is my leader."

"So a Hokage your Minister of Magic?"

"No. My country has two leaders. One political, one military."

Snape sneered. "So the Hokage is the Head Auror? He is the one who allows children to fight? How old are the children he sends into battle?"

Kakashi didn't answer for a moment. How would they react to the age most shinobi started training at? Would the wizards perceive a country with young soldiers as weak and inexperienced, or would it scare them into staying out of shinobi's business? They might even get some misguided idea about saving children by taking over the shinobi government. In the end Kakashi decided on a softened version of the truth.

"Some places you have to train early to compete with other countries. I _am_ youngest Jonin. And my Hokage made a law so the age limit older."

"He raised it? What, were commanders getting tired of changing diapers?"

"Severus!" Dumbledore snapped. "We must be respectful of other cultures. It is a privilege to have someone so skilled from the Hidden Continent here."

"Don't tell me you are okay with this Albus!" Snape barked. "Now answer me, _Kakashi_. When does the _noble_ Hokage send children to battle?"

This lunch was getting dangerous, and he was done eating anyway. Snape didn't strike him as the sentimental child-saving type, but he was getting riled up about this so maybe he shouldn't tell him the truth. Kakashi set down his chopsticks and stood.

"Thank you for the meal, Dumbledore-sama. I'd like to look around the castle if I could." Dumbledore nodded while Snape fumed.

"Answer me, Hatake." He growled.

Damn. Snape wasn't going to let this go. "During war, graduation age is nine. Battle starts after some months, mostly. But, war ended, so now it is twelve."

"Nine? During war? You barbaric- No sane person would let anyone fight before at least seventeen!"

Kakashi started toward the door. He'd never seen anyone get so worked up over something as trivial as graduation age. It didn't affect the children of Snape's country, so why did he care so much? It was illogical. Snape was just a schoolteacher with no political power, so there was nothing he could do about it anyway.

"Seventeen?" He threw the words carelessly over his shoulder. "You are lucky. To live here."

Hogwarts was huge. There had to be more going on that Kakashi didn't see, because no one in their right mind would build such a place and only use it as a school.

But then, wizards didn't appear completely sane. Or rather he couldn't see logic in some of the things they did. If they were so dedicated to their children, why were there so many dangerous things on campus? In the last hour he'd been attacked by a gigantic spider in the forest, a squid-like monster in the lake, and somehow a tree. Kakashi had never heard of a jutsu that could make plants move. The closest thing he could think of was the first Hokage's wood techniques, but even he couldn't control trees remotely. Why would someone go to the trouble of infusing a tree with chakra? To protect the opening in its roots? But the branches were so easy to dodge even a civilian had a good chance of making it.

The Jonin didn't _get_ wizards. Until he figured out how they worked, he would be inefficient in fighting, protecting, and interacting with them. He knew how shinobi thought which allowed him to make effective decisions in battle. How was he supposed to predict the moves of such a different people? Kakashi exhaled loudly. His mission was becoming troublesome.

If nothing else, though, the wizards sure could build impressive things. Currently Kakashi was perched atop one of the castle's tall spires, where he could see for miles around. It was refreshing having a clear lookout point, since he had spent the last two hours or so running around trying to memorize the maze of a school. He'd done his best, what with how everything kept moving around and the talking paintings kept yelling him.

At least the layout would confuse any intruders. The castle had no other defenses, besides the barrier. There wasn't even a wall, and enemies could hide unnoticed for months in the forest.

Now that he had the castle and grounds layout more or less memorized, he had to check out the staff. Dumbledore had given him the files on everyone after lunch, and Kakashi spent a solid hour and a half going through them. It would've taken less time, but the files were all handwritten in indecipherable loopy letters he'd never seen before. After an hour of trying to decode the files Kakashi broke down and asked Dumbledore for printed copies. After that things went much smoother, even though there were many words that weren't in his English dictionary. Almost everyone checked out except for Severus Snape, a former Death Eater. From what he understood, the Death Eaters were a group headed by a powerful rouge wizard named Voldemort. They were currently in hiding, but Kakashi knew better than to assume they wouldn't attack.

The biggest question was why Dumbledore hired Snape in the first place. People with attachments to your enemies could never truly be trusted. It was the equivalent of villages letting foreign shinobi into their ranks- unthinkable. Sure, Snape hadn't done anything suspicious yet, but that didn't mean he was never going to.

After finally remembering to change his blood-soaked bandage, Kakashi headed into the castle to have a little talk with Snape.

It wasn't very hard to find the man. Kakashi simply followed his nose towards the darkest, dampest part of the castle until he came across a door that reeked of the stench that surrounded the wizard. He didn't bother knocking; he could feel a wizard chakra signature inside.

"Snape-san," Kakashi said, closing the door behind him. "I have questions for you." Snape didn't look up from his desk. Now that there were no interfering magic signatures, Kakashi smelled something off about the man. Underneath the rotten stench of whatever Snape was covered with, there was another scent. It was intermingled with his chakra and so faint he could barely detect it, but it was there, dark and sour. But the chances of Snape telling him what was wrong with his chakra signature were low, so Kakashi kept the thought to himself.

"And what would the wunderkind shinobi want with someone as inconsequential as me?" Snape muttered, not looking up from what he was writing.

Kakashi had the feeling Snape was purposely using words he didn't know. "You used to be Death Eater."

"Yes."

"Are you still?" The question sat in the air for a moment.

"I had hoped the situation would be clear. Not that it involves you in any way."

"Your file said you left them. But Death Eaters may attack Potter, so it involve me."

"If you already know that I left the organization, then why did you come?"

"Because I'm not sure of you. And you should tell me what about Death Eaters that is important." A bit of killing intent seeped into the air, not on accident. Snape inhaled sharply, obviously feeling it.

"Everything is in Dumbledore's files." He said through gritted teeth. His body language told Kakashi that Snape was scared. Good. Now maybe he would be a little less trouble.

"I hope so." And Kakashi was gone.

"Throw it into the fireplace and say 'Leaky Cauldron'."

Kakashi gave McGonagall an odd look.

"Just do it."

Among other things, wizards were the masters of weird forms of transportation. At this point he'd almost rather walk than put his life in the hands of their dubious spells. But seeing as how he had no idea where they were going, he took his chances and did what McGonagall told him. Kakashi threw a bit of powder into the fireplace.

"Leaky Cauldron," he said in his best English accent, and stepped into the now green fire. Everything went black and he felt as if he was caught in a whirlpool. The breath was pushed out of his lungs. Images and different chakras flashed in and out of his senses, and he banged is arm on something hard. After a few long seconds he was forcibly _thrown_ out of the fireplace.

Wizard transportation managed to tear Kakashi's shoulder wound open for the second time that day. At least this time he didn't have to worry about blood getting on his white cloak and scaring people. Before he had left with McGonagall he had changed into civilian clothes. Kakashi now wore a dark green sweater over his ninja mail, close-toed winter sandals and a plain black sweatband over Obito's eye. Despite his efforts, he had only managed to conceal seven kunai and a handful of shuriken on his person. The rest of his weapon pouches were in the front pocket of his backpack in case he needed them, and is ANBU uniform and tanto were sealed safely away in a storage scroll.

The Floo powder had dumped him in a small dank room. Two similar fireplaces were on either side the one he had come out of, so Kakashi assumed this room was designed for transportation, like the portkey house from earlier. A moment later McGonagall appeared.

"You'll be staying here tonight." McGonagall said as she brushed off her skirt and headed for the door. It opened into an empty hallway, but Kakashi heard voices and smelled alcohol somewhere nearby. The witch led him through a series of doors and staircases until they reached a worn down pub. It had a bar, separate restaurant section, and another staircase that probably led to some hotel rooms. The place was packed with drinkers and diners.

"Mr. Potter is here too, and you are to go with him to Hogwarts the day after tomorrow." McGonagall said as they walked.

"He will be safe."

The witch gave him an unreadable look. Did she doubt his abilities like everyone else seemed to?

"You have a room?" he asked McGonagall.

"Of course. It's next to Harry's. So you can protect him." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Kakashi mentally rolled his eyes, took the key and unlocked the door.

The room was small and scantily furnished with a bed, a desk, and a dresser. It reminded him of a slightly larger version of the dorm he had in ANBU before he was promoted to captain.

"You are leaving, then?" Kakashi asked McGonagall. She had followed him up to his room, and now hovered just outside of the doorway.

"Yes. Harry's out in Diagon Alley right now, but be sure and speak to him when he returns. Tomorrow he'll help you get your school things."

"It safe to leave him alone when people want to kill him?"

McGonagall looked flustered. "Diagon Alley is a wizard settlement with plenty of people to look after him. Of course he's safe there!"

_Yes, trust the life of my charge to random townspeople._

"I should find him."

"Kakashi, it's unnecessary." McGonagall said stubbornly.

Then Kakashi realized there was another problem. He had no idea where the place even was. "Where is Diagon Alley?" he asked casually.

"The entrance is hidden. Only wizards with wands can get in."

_"Dammit." _He swore in Japanese, "Can you take me to there?"

"I already told you, he's safe. You should rest, Kakashi. He should be back soon."

"It takes one second to die." Kakashi was getting a little uneasy with the situation. The shinobi was not going to let his charge be killed before he even found him! But then he heard someone coming up the stairs and knew a decision had to be made quickly.

"Will you bring me to there or no?" The older witch hesitated in her answer until it was too late. The mysterious person had reached the hallway.

"Pro…Professor McGonagall?"

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

His two weeks of freedom were drawing to a close, and Harry couldn't help but be disappointed. The Hogwarts Express left the day after tomorrow, and while it was impossible _not_ to look forward to school, he couldn't help but wish his vacation lasted a little longer. Even worse, he hadn't found Ron or Hermione yet, and while he would see them on the train, it would've been fun to explore Diagon Alley with his two friends. Harry had just finished dinner and was heading up the stairs to his room, yawning as he went. He couldn't wait to get to bed.

Harry was thoroughly unprepared for what he found at the top of the staircase. It was _Professor McGonagall_. She was standing just outside of the room next to his, arguing with someone inside.

"… bring me there or no?" said the other person, with an accent Harry didn't recognize.

"Pro…Professor McGonagall?" he stuttered. She turned around, looking annoyed. He'd never seen her annoyed in his life, or at least seen her show it. "What are you…" Harry forgot what he was going to say, because just then McGonagall's mysterious guest stepped out of the hotel room.

He had to be the oddest boy Harry had ever seen. He was around his age, dressed in a dark sweater and pants tucked into sturdy boots. The strange part was his hair, white-gray and spiky, and the black cloth headband pulled down over one eye. Harry realized he was staring a moment too late. "Um, hi." He said awkwardly.

"Perfect timing, Mr. Potter," said McGonagall, breaking the tension, "you saved me some trouble."

"This him?" said the boy with his strange accent.

"Harry, this is Kakashi Hatake. He's a new transfer student at Hogwarts." Harry had never heard of anyone transferring to Hogwarts before. In fact, he didn't think anyone could come in after first year. But that did explain Kakashi's accent, and possibly the reason for his strange appearance.

"Hi. I'm Harry Potter." He stuck out his hand, and Kakashi took it and almost broke it. Harry tried not to wince in pain; this kid was _strong_. Kakashi didn't react to his name like most people did, which was a relief. At least his name wasn't world famous or something.

"Hello." Kakashi said simply. His accent turned 'l's into 'r's and made it hard to tell what he was saying.

"Harry, I want you to bring Kakashi to Diagon Alley tomorrow and help him get his school stuff. He'll go with you to Hogwarts too."

"Wait, so I'm like… his guide?" There went his plans of sleeping in and enjoying his last day of break.

"Yes. He's your responsibility. Make sure he has everything he needs, and get him to Hogwarts on time. If you don't I shall be _ver_y disappointed." Harry saw the threat. If Kakashi was in any way unprepared on the first day of school, Gryffindor would lose house points.

Lots and _lots_ of house points.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall."

"And Harry? I suggest taking the train this year."

Harry's cheeks burned. Last year hadn't been his fault! It was Dobby who had made him and Ron miss the train! But it was too late; McGonagall was already gone, leaving him with the strangest, most mysterious boy he had ever met.

There was an awkward silence, and Harry got the feeling that the next few days were going to be an absolute _joy._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **That was a little shorter than the last chapter, but I didn't want to delay this update any longer! But I wasn't just sitting on my hands the whole time. While procrastinating my editing, I added to my story outline a major sub-plot (which is now more like the main plot), that includes some romance, extra fight scenes, angst, humor, and some OCs. On top of that, I started a prequel. (It's still in the works) Hopefully now updates will be a little smoother. I'm really excited for the next few! These are just the intro chapters. I can't wait to get into the _real_ story!

**Also-** I'm going to start putting polls at the end of chapters. Here's the first one!

I'm seriously considering bringing two Naruto characters into this story. Do you think this is a good idea? Bonus points if you can guess who! Hint: They are near his age, would have a legitimate reason for leaving Kohona, and are not not Not NOT Iruka!

Cookies for the person who guesses both correctly first!

**_Someone guessed them! Congratulations to Ookami99 for correctly guessing Anko and Yamato!_**

Word Count- 3,578


	5. Shopping and Secrets

**Disclaimer: **I'm a high schooler who writes Fanfiction. What do you think?

_A/N-_ Wow. It took nine months to update this, but it's not because I was pregnant… I swear. I've just been so picky with this chapter that I kept delaying posting until it was _perfect._

**Note- I've edited the first four chapters as of September 28, 2012. You can re-read them if you've forgotten what's happened, or just look over the summary of changes I've got at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 5: Shopping and Secrets<span>**

Snape stalked down Hogwart's corridors, black cloak swishing around him.

Shinobi. Dumbledore hired a _shinobi_. Assassins who would do anything for money. The people even the Dark Lord had hesitated to involve himself with. This was who Dumbledore chose to guard the school? To protect Potter?

Even the Dementors were preferable.

But as if a shinobi wasn't enough, it was a _child._ Dumbledore had always been eccentric but this… this took the cake.

_"Perhaps you misunderstand Dumbledore-sama, but I am an assassin."_

Children didn't belong in battle. They didn't belong in _war_. Yet there he was, a boy with eyes like a seasoned veteran, who _was_ one. It made him sick. Death Eaters used children and shinobi in their wars. It was something _criminals_ did. At least, that's what Snape had thought.

What was Dumbledore thinking?!

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

Harry's first impression of Hogwarts' transfer student was of a juvenile delinquent.

Normally he wasn't one to judge by appearances. After all, Harry wasn't exactly normal himself. But there was just something about the newcomer that was kind of… scary. Looking like he was in a gang only made it worse. Between the white hair, eye patch, and odd clothes- even among wizards Kakashi was weird.

Nevertheless McGonagall had told Harry to show him around, so he really didn't have a choice. The question was why _he_ had to do it. Wouldn't a prefect or Head Boy be better? It was probably just his bad luck to be there when Kakashi arrived.

Harry turned his attention back to the half-eaten breakfast in front of him. Across the table Kakashi was nursing a mug of black coffee and eyeing the other customers like they were going to attack him or something.

"Hey, er…" Harry started hesitantly, and Kakashi gave him a frigid glance. "We should go to Diagon Alley soon. You know, to get your school stuff."

"Mm," was all the other boy said, but he drained his coffee and stood up. Harry took the hint. Stuffing the last of his toast in his mouth, the wizard left a small tip on the table and headed for the back door, mentally grumbling all the way. This really wasn't how he wanted to spend the last day of his vacation. He just hoped he could find Ron and Hermione soon.

When they arrived at the brick wall that was the entrance to Diagon Alley, Kakashi gave him a questioning look. Harry grinned.

"It's a hidden entrance so muggles don't wander in." He explained. Harry took out his wand and tapped the correct bricks on the wall. Immediately they began shifting, and the door to Harry's favorite world appeared.

The street was packed, even more than usual. Witches in pointed hats, wizards lugging trunks, and some teens Harry recognized as other Hogwarts students bustled in every direction.

"We should get robes first, since they take the longest." Harry glanced over at his companion, half-hoping to see some sort of surprise on Kakashi's face. He blinked (winked?), but that was all.

Harry exhaled. "Come on," he muttered.

It was almost noon, and Ron and Hermione still hadn't turned up.

Kakashi was… interesting. He didn't talk much, and the silence was getting uncomfortable. He told himself it was because Kakashi didn't speak a lot of English, but somehow, he doubted that was the only reason. They'd already been to the book store, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and the apothecary (which Kakashi had refused to enter on account of the smell), and the whole time he hadn't said more than about five compete sentences.

They were on their way back to the robe store when Harry heard his name and saw a welcome sight.

"Oi! Harry! Over here!" Ron and Hermione waved frantically at him from across the street. Harry couldn't help the huge grin that spread across his face as he made his way through the crowd to his friends.

"I thought we'd never find you! We checked the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd already gone and… who's this?" Harry looked over his shoulder; Kakashi, who was balancing a mountain of school things, had just made his way through the crowd.

"Oh, right. Ron, Hermione, this is Kakashi Hatake. He's a transfer student from Japan. I'm helping him get his school stuff."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Ron Weasely. I _thought_ Mr. Weasely said something about a new student. What school did you come from?" asked Hermione brightly.

"Mahoutokoro," Kakashi replied. (1)

"I've read about eastern wizards. The way they mix modern magic and ancient traditions is so fascinating. So why are you transferring?"

"It is just one year. I am learning Western magic."

"That's so great. And, do you happen to be a metamorphmagus?" Hermione suddenly asked.

The white haired boy shook his head. "What is a meta… what is that?" he asked.

"Someone who can change their appearance at will. Of course, I _have_ read that there are people who aren't real metamorphmagus, but if the gene is in their family they might have unusual features, like odd hair colors. Is anyone in your family a metamorphmagus?"

"Maybe. My hair isn't colored." Kakashi shrugged.

So that weird color was _natural. _That answered that question, at least. Hermione really was amazing at finding things out even outside the library. Ron hadn't said anything yet, but it looked to Harry that the red-head was just as confused by Kakashi's appearance as he was. While Hermione continued drilling the transfer student, Ron eased over to his friend.

"Oi, Harry," Ron whispered, no doubt eyeing Kakashi's hair and sweatband, "Who is this guy? He looks straight out of the loony bin."

Harry shrugged. "McGonagall said I had to help him get his school stuff. He's not that bad, he just doesn't speak English that well."

"Hey, Harry!" Hermione interrupted, "Kakashi's wand broke on his way here, so we have to go Ollivander's and get him a new one." And with that Hermione was off, practically dragging Kakashi behind her.

Harry grinned. "Well, Hermione likes him, at least. Let's go."

Ron followed, grumbling all the way.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

The last time Kakashi went school shopping he was four years old and it had taken approximately eleven minutes. He'd bought one notebook, three yellow pencils, and _Konohagakure Shinobi Academy: Grade One_. If only things were still that simple. It had taken _hours_, and only now were they getting to the good stuff. After spending all morning buying frivolous school things Kakashi was finally going to get what he was looking forward to- the wand. It seemed more versatile than any shinobi weapon, even if it did have drawbacks. Honestly he wasn't really expecting it to be a decent weapon; it was too fragile. But for things like barriers, or genjutsu? A wand could be priceless.

"This is Ollivander's. He's the best wandmaker in all of England, I've heard," Hermione said. She was the most helpful wizard he had met so far, actually. Even if she was a little overexcited at the moment, he could tell that she was smart and would tell him most anything he needed to know about wizards and magic. Best of all she didn't have any ulterior motives or suspicions like Dumbledore or the staff did. Harry and Ron were a little wary of him, but as far as he could tell they were just average wizard kids and shouldn't pose a problem. However Harry had a smell like Snape's Death Eater mark on him; he'd have to ask him about that later.

The wand shop was small, old, and dusty. Shelves overflowing with small cardboard boxes crowded the walls, and more were scattered throughout the room. But despite appearances, Kakashi could tell that there was something special about this shop. The air was _saturated_ with magic that pushed on his senses like a wall, but he was slowly getting used to the feeling.

"Good afternoon," said a quiet voice from the back of the shop. A moment later a small, spindly man made his way around piles of boxes to the front of the shop.

"Harry, Ronald, Hermione, good to see you… but, who is this? Too old to be a first year- did your previous wand break?"

Kakashi nodded, setting his new school things down on a wooden chair. A broken wand was an easy excuse and he was glad the wizards bought it so easily.

"Wizards should be more careful with their wands. But…" the old man shuffled closer and peered very closely at Kakashi, who stood still.

"Why, I don't believe it. I never thought I'd see your kind here again… you must be a Hatake." Kakashi froze.

"How did you tell?" he asked levelly.

"Shinobi have been here a few times before. You have a very… distinct feel about you." Without another word Ollivander went to one of the shelves and pulled out a box.

"Try this one," he said, pulling a wand out and offering it to Kakashi, who eyed it suspiciously. Was it simply his white hair that gave his identity away? Or something else? The old man didn't seem like an enemy, and his magic signature was just as weak as other wizard's. But he didn't really have much of a choice but to listen to Ollivander. He needed a wand.

Kakashi took the stick. For a moment nothing happened. Then, suddenly, his chakra was forcibly _sucked_ into the wand. The energy compressed, until-

_Crack_! The wand exploded. The chakra literally split it open from the inside, and splinters showered the ground.

"Whoa!" yelped Ron from behind him, "You trying to kill someone?!"

"Ollivander-san. What that? What was that?" Kakashi asked in a steady voice.

"Interesting…" murmured Ollivander. "It just so happens that the same thing happened to the last shinobi."

So, chakra was too much for the little wizard wand to even handle. It was almost funny.

"You know I would break the wand?"

"Yes. It was just for curiosity's sake. I never liked that one anyway."

"You have a wand can I use?"

Ollivander went into a back room this time, and Kakashi was sure he heard the click of a safe.

"This," said the wand-maker coming back, "is my most special wand. I only have one- try it out." Kakashi took the box, which was made of wood instead of cardboard as with the other ones. Inside was an unremarkable wooden stick. It was a dark red and slightly tapered at the end, with a black leather handle.

"Cherry wood, seven and a half inches, core of- well, I think you'll figure it out."

Kakashi picked up the wand, which was heavier than the other. Instead of a sucking sensation like the last one, he felt something different, something familiar.

"_Shiroko!_" Kakashi gasped. Where in the world did Ollivander-san get _this_? The wand was coated in wood, but the core was of one of the rarest metals in the Hidden Continent- the _shiroko_ metal that made up his tanto!

Ollivander grinned, showing yellow teeth. "Sure is. Nothing else is strong enough for shinobi magic."

Kakashi focused a bit of his chakra into the wand. A white, blinding light that filled the room before dimming and going out. It had almost the same feel to it as his tanto, except for draining a little more chakra than he was used to. Curious, Kakashi gave it an awkward flick. The wand reacted to movement releasing his chakra again, this time in a silvery mist that he found he could control. More importantly, it didn't blow up.

"Excuse me," said Hermione, "shiro… what? Is that a kind of animal?"

"Not quite, missy. Shiroko is a kind of metal. It means 'white steel'."

"Metal? But… wand cores can only be certain parts of magical animals."

"Well, shinobi are a little different. They can't use normal wands. The only thing I know of that works is shiroko metal."

"Mr. Ollivander," Kakashi interrupted, "I don't understand. I have shiroko, but it cannot do magic. Is the wand different?"

"Maybe. I don't really know, my father made that one. He may have altered the metal, or spelled it."

Kakashi gave the wand a few more waves and a twirl, feeling his chakra move through the metal core. He didn't want to admit it, but Kakashi was impressed. A personalized weapon- it was certainly an idea. Could be used for real jutsu, or even stand up to a chidori?

After paying twenty-four gold Galleons for his wand (an outrageous price, according Ron), they were back on their way. Besides picking up his newly made robes, there were no more things that Kakashi really needed. So for the next few hours they wandered aimlessly around Diagon Alley, going to this shop or another. Harry, Ron, and Hermione _insisted_ on spending his bag of wizard money on things they "swore he needed". At first Kakashi was annoyed at all the useless things he was accumulating. But the kids reminded him so eerily of Obito he didn't have the heart to turn them down. Besides it wasn't a big deal, he'd already bought everything he needed and in an emergency he could always get money from his account in Konoha. That and he was too tired and nervous to put up a fight about something so little anyway.

Because Kakashi were honest with himself, the crowd was getting to him. He didn't like crowds. They were one of his least favorite things. He'd been dragged to festivals and the like before, but Diagon Alley was something else. It was so packed he could hardly breathe, the noise pounded on his eardrums, pungent smells exhausted his nose, and eventually he was so frayed that he nearly knifed a wizard who shoved past him.

But despite the sensory overload, the place wasn't all bad. The three friends talked among themselves, and Kakashi was content follow quietly, observing the town and its people. It had a different feel than Konoha; everyone was rushing and hurrying, yet there was certain lightness in the air he hadn't felt before. No posters on wartime safety procedures, no stone-faced Uchiha police patrolling the streets; and the civilians were cheerful in a way they weren't at home. This was a place war hadn't touched in a long time.

For no particular reason, he thought of Minato-sensei and how he would've loved this mission.

"Hey, Kakashi, do you want to get a pet?" Hermione's questions brought him from his thoughts. "My parents gave me some money for a birthday present, and I thought I'd get an owl."

"Owl? Why?" Well, this place may be peaceful, but it was still odd.

"For post. Wizards send letters with owls."

"Oh. Shinobi use eagles."

"You keep using that word, shinobi, what does it mean?" They entered the pet shop. The smell, though not as bad as the apothecary, was horrific. Cages lined the walls, filled with cats, frogs, rats, mice, rabbits, fish, and owls. A man at the counter was asking about some kind of newt while a pudgy witch helped him.

"Shinobi means wizard. Japanese word."

"Yes, but... I've read about wizards from other places, including Asia. I've never heard of them using a metal wand."

Kakashi inspected a tank of shiny black rats next to the register. He hadn't expected a student to pick up on it so fast. But then, Hermione wasn't exactly a normal student.

"Just my family has the metal wand. Other shinobi have normal wand," he lied. Hermione was about to respond when something large, fast, and very orange shot into Kakashi's line of vision and toward Ron.

Instinctively the shinobi snatched the attacker out of the air.

It was a cat. Kakashi almost rolled his eyes. Ron struggled to keep his rat from running off while Kakashi watched the cat furiously shred his sweater, unsure of what to do. Was it okay to just kill it? Harry, Hermione, and Ron (who had gotten his rat under control) all stared at him with wide eyes.

"_Ano…_" he said uncertainly, "What do I… with the cat?"

Said cat was trying to claw unsuccessfully through his ninja mail, when it suddenly began _floating away._

"What the-" then Kakashi noticed the pet store witch pointing her wand at the cat, who was struggling in midair. Magic could make things fly?

"Oh, sorry!" the witch was apologizing, "He never jumps on people." She negotiated the still spitting orange cat into a wicker basket and shut the little door.

"You should thank your friend here," she said to Ron, "for grabbing him before he got your rat."

"Thanks Kakashi," said Ron honestly.

"Hn." Kakashi inspected his sleeve, which was torn to ribbons. Great, now he would have to explain why he was wearing chain mail to a bunch of civilian kids.

"Oh, dear! Crookshankes didn't scratch you, did he?" asked the witch, who pointed her wand at him. He flinched but watched in amazement as the strands of his clothes wove themselves back together, good as new.

He _really_ had to get uses to this whole "magic thing".

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

Harry couldn't fathom why, but Hermione had bought the cat.

"That thing tried to attack Scabbers! And you _bought _it?" Ron was not happy.

"Well he didn't, Kakashi stopped him, so what's the problem?"

The two friends argued a bit more, and eventually Hermione agreed not to let Crookshankes (the cat) out when Scabbers was around. Ron grumbled a bit but agreed.

"Kakashi, what are you going to name your owl?" Harry asked, hoping to change the subject.

The sleek black eagle owl hooted in his new cage like he knew they were talking about him.

"Fukurou."

"Cool! That's Japanese, right? What does it mean?" asked Ron.

"Owl."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Nice. Very creative." The freckled wizard was getting along better with Kakashi now. Harry guessed there was nothing like saving someone from getting mauled to start a friendship. That had been amazing; he hardly saw Kakashi move. He had to be a star Quidditch player to have reflexes like that. Harry hoped he would be sorted into Gryffindor, he wanted Kakashi on _their_ team.

They were heading back to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner. Ron's family was already there, and Harry was starving. After the pet store incident broke the ice, the rest of the day had been lots of fun. Kakashi still didn't talk much besides answering Hermione's questions, but his silence was somehow more comfortable than it had been. I didn't hurt that Kakashi had a gigantic bag of money he let the three wizards spend for him. They'd already gone through most of it. Robes, a potions set, textbooks, a set of gobstones, candies, more books, a spell checking quill and other odds and ends were all packed in a trunk that Kakashi was hauling around with ease. In his other hand was Fukurou's small steel cage.

It was the dinner rush hour when they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, and there was pandemonium, needless to say. The bar was full of loud, laughing men and waitresses ran this way and that trying to fill orders. In the corner two tables had been pushed together to accommodate Ron's huge red-headed family.

"Ronnekins!" said two identical voices from across the room.

"Oh no…" moaned Ron, seconds before he was practically tackled by the twins. It didn't take long before the rest of his family mobbed them with welcomes. George had Ron in a headlock, Percy gave Harry a very professional handshake, and Mrs. Weasely fussed over everyone while Ginny turned bright red at the sight of Harry. Eventually they all made it to the dinner table. It was only after they had ordered their food that Harry realized Kakashi had disappeared.

"Where's Kakashi?" he asked Ron, who shrugged.

"I should go find-" Harry started, but Hermione stood up first. "No, I'll go get him. He's probably just up in his room," she said.

"What's up with her?" asked Ron glancing at where Hermione had gone.

Harry shrugged.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

The day had just been a little _much_, and it was no wonder Kakashi retreated to his room the moment they returned to the inn. The white-haired boy needed a break from the damn wizard crowds and their awful magic that saturated the air and pounded on his nerves until it felt as if someone were bludgeoning his chakra sensory with a stick.

For barely a half an hour he was left alone and Kakashi cherished every moment. He fed the owl he had bought. It wasn't like he had anyone to write to; it was just best to be prepared just in case. Next he took care of the wound on his upper arm. Some painkillers he'd taken that morning had let him almost forget about it, but they were wearing off fast and the wound had begun throbbing again an hour earlier. Kakashi took off his sweater and mail leaving only a sleeveless black shirt underneath.

Unwinding the bandage he found an unwelcome surprise- infection. The shinobi swore. Rin would be _so_ mad at him, letting a little scratch like that get so bad. He should've known that being in a new place would make him vulnerable to new sicknesses and bacteria. Unsealing his large first aid kit from a scroll in his backpack, Kakashi went about cleaning and disinfecting the wound. He gritted his teeth against the stinging and got out a jar of antiseptic.

Just then there was a knock and the door opened. "Kakashi, dinner's…" Hermione trailed off, her eyes huge.

Hatake Kakashi, known as one of the most cautious and meticulous captains in all of ANBU, had forgotten to lock the door. And now he'd just traumatized civilian girl.

Today was just one of those days, wasn't it?

"Oh my gosh, um, are you okay Kakashi?" she managed.

"Yes. I'm alright."

"How did that happen?"

"Accident. You could leave if you don't like blood." He suggested. This particular antiseptic worked great, but did nothing to stop bleeding.

"No it's alright, I mean, can I help?"

"No." The shinobi smeared on the antiseptic and put a pad of gauze quickly. The blood soaked through almost instantly, but he kept wrapping it in white bandages until the stain disappeared.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes. I'm going to bed."

"You're going to skip dinner?"

"Not hungry."

"But you haven't eaten all day! You didn't have lunch. If you're hurt you could at least eat something."

Kakashi was about to refuse when he realized Rin had said that exact same thing to him, many times, in a different language.

He pulled his sweater over his head. "Alright."

Kakashi had never been to a family dinner- not since his mother died when he was too young to remember, at least. It had probably been ten years since he'd had dinner with more than five people at a time, and certainly not with strangers in a loud restaurant. So the evening was a new experience for him. The food was alright. He just picked out things he recognized like meat and vegetables, and it took only a few tries to figure out how to use a fork.

The _people_ were what pissed him off. They questioned him about _everything_, his home, his "school", friends, family. Needless to say almost all of what he told them was either a lie or a glossed over version of the truth. It was suffocating, and he found himself almost wishing a missing-nin would come through the door. The shinobi was _much_ better at fighting than going undercover and talking to people all day.

Ridiculous. A simple meal was putting him more on edge than anything else on his mission had. He just felt so out of place. The way everyone was so carefree, laughing… _damn_ did it remind him of the dinners he used to have with his team. After a big mission they'd always go to the same little tea house on the edge of the village, or if Kushina was around she would cook. He could almost taste her homemade miso soup… his chest clenched at the memory.

Kakashi _didn't_ like this place.

But when he realized Mr. Weasely was saying something important, he forced himself to pay attention.

"So they still haven't caught him?" Harry was asking.

"No," Mr. Weasely's face was grave, "they're even pulling Ministry employees off our normal jobs to look for him. But no luck."

"Maybe we'll catch him. There's a huge reward, right? I wouldn't mind more money…" said Ron dreamily.

"Don't be ridiculous. Black's not going to be caught by some teenage wizards still in school. It'll be the Azkaban guards who get him, believe me."

"But there are Aurors, too, certainly?" asked Percy loftily. He was wearing a shiny silver badge to the dinner table, for some reason.

"Well, most of them are on that case. We aren't trying to advertise it with the whole Black situation, but maybe you boys should know." Mr. Weasely lowered his voice a bit. "We don't know if it's because of Black's breakout, but there are rumors that some of You-Know-Who's people are becoming active again. It's not severe yet, but the Aurors are still investigating."

Kakashi listened intently. Wasn't "You-Know-Who" what wizards called Voldemort?

"Death Eaters? But-" Mr. Weasely cut Ron off.

"Not too loudly!" Hissed the wizard. "We don't want people to panic. The Aurors want to make a full investigation before announcing anything. For all we know it could end up just a rumor. You-Know-Who shouldn't be any more powerful than he was twelve years ago, so we don't know what could have triggered it. All we know is that some suspicious things have been happening lately, and there have been sightings of Death Eaters all over."

Unfortunately the conversation turned to lighter topics for the rest of dinner, so Kakashi decided to talk to Mr. Weasely once everyone else left. The adult wizard had largely ignored him so far, so he couldn't be sure if he'd been told who Kakashi really was. It wouldn't surprise him; obviously the Weasely family had been appointed Harry's escort to school.

After dessert had been cleared away, everyone was very full and sleepy, and began to drift from the dinner table. Kakashi lingered until only he and the two Weasely adults remained.

"Oh, Kakashi," Mrs. Weasely said when she noticed him, "is there something you need?" Mr. Weasely looked at him warily. Was it just his appearance, or did the older wizard really know who he was?

"Mr. Weasely, you know who I am?" he asked. No point in wasting time.

The older wizard ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"It's you, isn't it? The one Dumbledore sent?" he said morosely, like he knew it was true but wished it wasn't.

"Dumbledore told you." It wasn't a question, but Mr. Weasely nodded.

"He just told us a student from the Hidden Continent would be here as extra security. I didn't get any details."

"Do other people know about me?"

"No. Just the people at Hogwarts, my wife and I, and the people from your side. Everyone else just thinks you're a regular transfer student."

Kakashi considered this for a moment. "Why did Dumbledore trust you?"

"I've known Dumbledore for a long time. It's our job to make sure Harry gets to the train station safely tomorrow. I suppose Dumbledore wanted someone outside of the school to know what's going on."

"Arthur, he isn't… the one Dumbledore told us about?" Mrs. Weasely broke in, her voice wavering. "I thought it would be a seventh year at least."

"We might have sent an older person," Kakashi said, "But I have reasons other for coming. I will be enough to make Harry safe."

Mrs. Weasely still looked bewildered. "But…" she squeaked.

Kakashi pressed on. "What do you know about the Death Eaters you were talking about?"

Mr. Weasely's face was grim. "I thought you would ask, but there isn't much more information than I already told you. There are only vague reports. Sightings of Death Eaters have been popping up all across Europe, but primarily around England and London. No one's been hurt yet, but we haven't seen activity like this in years. At least not this widespread."

"No one else knows? It is a secret?" asked Kakashi.

Mr. Weasely shook his head. "I know because a friend of mine is an Auror on the case, and he only warned me because he knew I have children at Hogwarts."

"What about shinobi?"

"What?"

"Shinobi. Like me. There are rumors about shinobi being here."

"I don't think so," the wizard said. "At least not that I've heard."

Had Dumbledore invented the rumor of there being shinobi sightings? It wouldn't surprise him. Either way Kakashi would have to keep an eye on this. He'd been a shinobi too long to assume anything was a coincidence. And there was always the chance that shinobi could be hiding in this world unnoticed. It would be child's play for shinobi to go undetected from wizards, especially if they weren't being specifically looked for.

"Arthur, I don't like this," said Mrs. Weasely, who had finally recovered. "Shinobi or not, he's just a boy. Ron's age! He doesn't need that kind of responsibility!" Kakashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes; he'd certainly heard _that_ before.

At that moment Kakashi heard footsteps coming down the hall, and when he realized who they belonged to he decided it was best to change the subject.

"Weasely-sa… Mr. Weasely," Kakashi corrected himself, "You work in Ministry. Do the Ministry know Black is after Harry?"

"Yes. That's why they're lending us cars to get to the train station."

"Does Harry know?"

Mr. Weasely shook his head. "I think we should tell him. It's best for him to be on guard."

"Arthur, the truth would terrify him! He's better off not knowing!"

"But Harry's always breaking the rules! Can you imagine what would have happened if the Knight bus hadn't picked him up two weeks ago? He would've been dead before we found him! Harry can't go sneaking off this year!"

"But he's _not_ dead, and he'll be perfectly safe at Hogwarts-"

"We thought Azkaban was safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts."

"Harry is safe, Mr. Weasely," Kakashi assured, but there was doubt in the wizard's eyes.

"It's just-" the wizard exhaled. "I thought you'd be older," he said with the pained, pitying look Kakashi had seen so often. After a long day, he didn't really want to deal with that.

"I need to pack," he said abruptly, and headed for the door. Harry had hidden himself in the hall, but there was no point; Kakashi knew exactly when he'd started eavesdropping and had indirectly told the boy about Black.

There were too many secrets around to keep Harry in the dark about something like that.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

Harry shut the door behind him, breathing hard after his flight up the stairs. For a moment there he thought Kakashi was going to see him. The bits of conversation he'd heard floated through his mind.

_"Do the Ministry know Black is after Harry?"_

_ "Harry is safe."_

_"I just… thought you'd be older."_

So Black was after him. For some reason it didn't bother him much. Voldemort was more dangerous and nowhere was safer than Hogwarts, or wherever Dumbledore happened to be. What Harry didn't get was why Mr. and Mrs. Weasely were talking to _Kakashi_ about it. Why did the exchange student know so much? The whole thing was just too suspicious for his liking.

The young wizard lay awake for what seemed like hours that night. There was too much going through his mind to sleep. Sirius Black, Kakashi, and the new Death Eater rumors all swirled around in his mind until he thought he'd go mad.

Suddenly there was a knock at his door. Harry got up and undid the bolt, opening it to find Hermione and Ron in their nightclothes, the latter with a flickering candle.

"Harry, we need to talk to you!" Hermione whispered.

"Me too," Harry said as he let them in. "It's about Kakashi, isn't it?"

Hermione nodded. She sat on the floor and took a breath.

"Remember how I went up to get him for dinner? Well, when I went up to his room, Kakashi had this _huge_ slice on his shoulder. I just got a quick look, but it looked pretty bad. He just said he got it in an accident, but… what kind accident could do _that_?" Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. It was awful."

Harry thought back to earlier that morning. "You know, now that I think about it, he didn't take off his sweater to let Madam Malkin to fit his robes. I didn't think much of it then, but what if he was covering up his shoulder?"

Hermione's voice wavered, and she looked on the verge of tears. "The cut was really clean, almost like a knife. It had to be some kind of hex. But where would he have gotten hit by a curse? Maybe he gets in fights a lot or something… but don't tell him I told you. I promised I wouldn't tell. But I was just worried about him! He acted like it was nothing at all!"

"I think Hermione did the right thing telling us," added Ron. "What if he really _does_ get in fights? You know his sweatband- the one over his eye? I couldn't figure it out, but what if he's covering up a black eye? He probably didn't want us knowing about it. Harry, do you think Kakashi could actually be dangerous?"

"Well I don't think _dangerous_," said Hermione. "Just getting hit by a hex doesn't make you violent He seemed too smart to-"

"Hermione, you've known the guy for half a day and he barely speaks English! I'd bet you he transferred here because he was kicked out of his old school for fighting."

"No, Kakashi told me that he came here to learn Western magic. He said his great-uncle did the same thing- transferring. His family has a talent for our magic, that's why."

"You still shouldn't trust him."

"I'm not, really," said Hermione, softer. "The moment we get back to Hogwarts I'm looking up his uncle. There must be something in the library."

"Kakashi's not the only one we have to worry about," Harry said gravely. He told them what he had heard from the Weaselys about Sirius Black.

"Bloody hell…" Ron muttered.

"Oh Harry, that's terrible! Why would he be after _you_?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because he's an ex Death Eater." Harry said irritably. They were taking the news worse than he had, and _they_ weren't even being targeted.

"You'll have to be careful Harry, I mean _really_ careful."

"Of course I'll be careful, Hermione."

"Yeah, Harry'd have to be pretty thick to go looking for trouble this year," said Ron. "Even though no one knows how he broke out of Azkaban. He was a top-security prisoner too…"

"Ron, you're not making him feel any better. Harry will be fine."

"That reminds me," said Harry, happy to change the subject, "Mr. and Mrs. Weasely were talking to Kakashi about all this. At the end Kakashi said that I'd 'be safe', and Mr. Weasely said that he thought 'you'd be older'."

"That you would be older, or Kakashi?" asked Hermione.

"Kakashi, I think. It could just be nothing. Maybe someone said that Kakashi would be older than he is. But what do you think he meant by I'd be safe?"

"Maybe he just meant that Hogwarts is safe place. I mean, with Dumbledore and all," said Ron.

"I don't know. I'm probably just overthinking it. But why was Kakashi talking to them about Black in the first place?"

No one had an answer for that, and soon Hermione and Ron went back to their rooms. Harry still felt ill at ease, especially now that there was the possibility that Kakashi was violent and knew secrets the white-haired teen really shouldn't. But it was late, and eventually the wizard drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>(1) Mahoutokoro- Literally meaning "Place of magic". According to Pottermore it's the name of the Japanese magical school.<strong>

**Word Count: 6,757**

**A/N-** Again, sorry about the 9 month delay. I did go back and edit the previous chapters, to improve the quality and to slip in a few things for the prequel (yes, there's going to be a prequel, no set date though). They were edited as of September 28, 2012 (the day I'm posting this), so if you've read before then you could go back and reread. If you don't want to, than here are the things (besides overall quality) I changed-

-I took out all the "hearing voices" parts. That just wasn't working with how I wanted the story to flow.

-In the flashback in the first chapter, Kakashi referred to Tsume Inuzuka as "Tsume-obasan", meaning Aunt Tsume. He also refers to ninken as "Tsume-obasan's" and "Mommy's", instead of his father's.

-Kakashi's mother did not die in childbirth, but of sickness when he was young. (Remember this, it's important later)

-There was a comment that had been called racist which I took out so as to not offend anyone.

******Poll******

**Ignoring how much better Gryffindor will be for the mission, what House do you think Kakashi would be sorted into, and why? The best answer wins!**

_The last poll, "What two Naruto characters will I be bringing into the story?", was correctly answered by_ **Ookami99. ****_Anko _**_and __**Yamato**__ will both be in this story! But not until around chapter 10 to 15-ish. Anyway __**Ookami99, **__for winning how about you give me a quote, any quote at all (as long as it's short, under 30 words) and I will include it in the next chapter. Any quote, even if it's about monkeys making brownies, I'll put it in there it. Let me know!_

Sorry about the long Author Note! The next chapter will be soon, for real this time. It's already mostly done, and cough*Dementors*cough.

Review if you want to! I made a goal to answer every one!

^\u/^


	6. The Welcome Wagon

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.

_A/N-_ Much less of a delay this time! Thank you so much for reviewing, we hit 111 reviews last chapter!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Six: The Welcome Wagon<span>**

Kakashi was woken the next morning by talking, running, banging, and other general noise that didn't help his encroaching headache one bit. He'd hardly slept last night; when he did he was soon woken by bits of nightmares. Bad dreams hadn't bothered him since around when he joined ANBU and Kakashi wondered what had brought them on again.

After a bandage change, a final packing job, dressing, and painkillers, Kakashi reluctantly joined the others for breakfast. If he weren't so hungry he might've skipped. With only a vague idea of what the food was he selected some sort of egg dish that _looked_ nutritious. Having slept in, Kakashi had to hurry to get his trunk, owl and backpack full of shinobi gear downstairs to be loaded into cars.

Yes, it was true- Kakashi was going to get to ride in a real car. Cars were rare in the Hidden Continent so the Jonin had never even seen one before, let alone ridden in one. For shinobi especially they were impractical. Easy to sabotage, ridiculously easy to ambush, the Hidden Continent's almost nonexistent supply of oil- the list went on and on.

Despite this Obito had always wanted to ride in one, and Kakashi wondered if there'd be a chance to uncover his eye for him.

But it wasn't meant to be. Somehow the shiny green car stretched enough to accommodate five people on its small back seat, and Kakashi was crowded against the window with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Percy, and Mr. Weasely in the front. The car started, filling the air with an acrid scent, and Kakashi unconsciously tightened his grip on the seat.

"You okay?" asked Ron beside him.

"I never been in a ca-" The vehicle lurched forward, sending Kakashi's stomach flipping. The closest resemblance he could think of was the time he'd ridden on ANBU Hawk's huge bird summons, but even that had been a smoother flight than this.

"… been in a car before." He finished, cringing again when they turned another sharp corner. It was a good thing Kakashi was by a window because he could be sick at any moment. Why had Obito wanted to ride in one of these things again?

"You've never been in a car before?" parroted Ron, who annoyingly looked unfazed by the ride. "I'm from a pure blood family and even _we_ had a car."

"I am from a-" his stomach clenched, "-a wizard town. We don't have cars."

"You sure you're alright? You look kinda car sick."

"I'm fine," the shinobi growled. He rested his head on the cool glass and tried to look at the scenery. "London" was so different from anything he'd ever seen it was unreal; like when he saw a movie once in a real theater with his team.

The drive was long; at least, it felt long to Kakashi. Finally they arrived at a huge place called King's Cross. Their group stood out like a sore thumb in the station full of normal, non-magical people. Kakashi spent the whole time constantly scanning the crowd for threats and avoiding conversations with the others.

After passing through a wall (some sort of wizard genjutsu) they arrived at a section of track with a bright red train. Kakashi knew even less about trains than he did cars. They moved on tracks and the engine was in the front; that was about the extent of his knowledge.

Their group moved to a less crowded area and the family began saying goodbyes. Mr. Weasely pulled Harry to the side; most likely to warn him about Black. The wizard didn't know Harry had been eavesdropping the night before. Mrs. Weasely was tearfully hugging all her children plus Harry and Hermione. Kakashi slipped away for a moment, suddenly very intent on making sure Fukurou's cage was secure.

"Kakashi, dear." The shinobi stiffened and turned. If she tried to hug him…

"I made you a sandwich for the train." The woman held out a paper bag.

"_Ano..._ thank you." Mrs. Weasely reminded him suddenly of Kushina. Unconsciously he backed away. She'd _always_ make him and Minato-sensei bento boxes for missions. They were good, but always had about four times what they could possibly eat. Most of it ended up in the stomachs of war orphans, other shinobi, or on occasion Kakashi's ninken.

Mrs. Weasely reminded him of Kushina. The twins with their carefree, mischievous attitude, of Obito. Hermione and her worrying ways of Rin.

The ANBU shook his head to clear it. This place was getting to him.

.X.X.X.X.

The feeling was peculiar. It started as a vague uneasiness, then gradually evolved into a nervous clenching in his stomach. Nobody else seemed to feel it, even the teacher in their compartment who smelled like a wolf and was pretending to sleep.

They'd been on the train for hours now. It'd been mostly peaceful and gave Kakashi time to, despite how terrible he was at reading English even with his dictionary on hand, get well into "_The Wizard World for Muggle-borns_", a book Hermione had made him buy. Other students had come in and out periodically, some making more noise than others.

But now… something was wrong. He could feel it.

Kakashi strengthened his mental barriers and the sensation faded and didn't return for several minutes. It was tempting to just ignore it, but Kakashi didn't become an ANBU captain by ignoring his gut instincts. Surreptitiously he put away the book and fingered the kunai in his pocket, senses on high alert.

The train jerked and slowed.

"We can't be there already," said Hermione, peering out the window.

The pressure on his mind was slowly building. For a teetering moment, he kept the attack at bay with sheer willpower. Then it was as if all his barriers began dissolving.

_The first person he ever killed, gasping for breath around the kunai in her throat. His own guilt._

He blinked the image away. Shit. Genjutsu attack. He didn't have much time-

_Boulders collapsing all around him. Obito and Rin's heavy breathing as they struggled to escape in time._

Damn. He needed to fight. Come on. _Fight it!_

Five times he tried to break the illusion with a 'kai'. But the attack was getting stronger. His insides felt like ice.

_Eleven and in an Iwa prison; it was hopeless. He was too weak. There was no way to escape!_

No. He had to keep his head. Think, analyze the situation. It was a genjutsu and a mental attack. He'd been trained for this. If he couldn't break the illusion himself, he had to defeat the person casting it.

"Lupin-san!" He barked at the teacher. "Someone is coming." The shinobi was unsteady but he made it into the corridor where curious students stuck their heads out of compartments. Lupin was beside him.

_The smell of his own fear as he lay, injured and alone behind enemy lines. Help wasn't coming._

"Move the students inside. Close the windows and doors." He ordered Lupin. The man raised his wand and the compartments slid shut and the windows blinds rolled down. A few students were left in the corridor, including Ron's sister. The train had slowed to a stop.

"Ginny-" Kakashi clutched his head as the attack redoubled.

_Rin sobbing at Obito's funeral. Him, powerless to help her._

"Get in the compartment. Lupin-san, get the students inside." Lupin hurried towards the startled children in the aisle.

And just in time. The enemies were getting close. The air was frozen.

_ His father, lying still in a pool of his own blood._

At the end of the train car the door rattled open. The door was close and he struggled to hold his ground in front of their compartment. Ghastly hooded figures appeared and moved slowly down the corridor. Cold, evil attacks wafted from them. He could feel his chakra being drained. Kakashi fell against the wall and gripped his kunai shakily.

_"Kakashi… take care of Rin."_

"Hey, hey! Kakashi!" Lupin's voice was far away.

The figures were getting closer. He threw the kunai. It passed straight through them.

_Hopeless. Useless. Couldn't help his father. Couldn't protect Obito. Couldn't save Rin. Couldn't fulfill sensei's last wish._

Out of fear, or desperation, or both, he grabbed the first thing from his pocket- the wand. He swung wildly, and there was a bright flash.

An unearthly wail and a puff of black smoke.

But it was too late. The demonic figures were on him. He couldn't beat them. It was cold- his very bones were ice.

Death- that was all he could see. Ones who died in front of him, blood he spilt. The fear in the eyes of his victims as he slaughtered them. The screams.

Sensei and Kushina, still and spattered with blood.

Rin's cold face and the smell of her death.

_ "Help me!"_

He can't save them.

_"Don't-"_

Only death.

_"Please!"_

_"Don't kill me!"_

He can only kill.

_"No!"_

He couldn't save them- now there's no one left to save.

_"Kakashi!"_

Why fight anymore?

Death followed like a plague around him. Best just to die. Best to turn out like his father. Another disgraced Hatake- it didn't matter anymore. Who cared? Certainly not the screams of his victims in his ears.

Everything was black.

.X.X.

Rin was dead. He knew that. Then why was he holding her? Why did he protect her body? Just an empty shell.

Kakashi just stood. Father was dead. Disgraced. What was the point anymore? Father had left him, had chosen to leave him. Useless. What kind of son was he? What kind of father left his son all alone?

Alone. There was no feeling and no reason to feel. He just floated aimlessly. Was he dead? Good. The cold was gone and he almost missed it. It was better than the nothingness that surrounded him now.

Something tugged at him. The bit of warmth and hope only made it worse- he was already dead, why rub it in? Only death. Only-

Light. Suddenly it was there. Warmth. Hope. Purpose.

He remembered Rin- what he had promised her. Sensei's last wish.

_Live. Live and protect the village, Kakashi._

Rin's warm smile.

He couldn't let everyone down. Not again.

There was a feeling like rushing upward through deep water.

No, never again.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

Maybe it was the sleeping potion he took earlier or comforting rumble of the Hogwarts Express, but it seemed to have been ages since Remus Lupin had slept this well.

For a majority of the train ride he was content to just sit back and eavesdrop on the students who entered the compartment. To his disbelief and excitement it was Harry. Harry _Potter._ James' son!

Lupin drifted in and out of the effects of his sleeping potion and listen. Harry had come in with three other students, one of whom was called Kakashi. The name was foreign, but familiar somehow. The boy sat next to him and on the rare occasions he spoke it was with a thick accent. Lupin couldn't place it exactly. Asian, maybe?

And then it clicked. _Kakashi Hatake._ The one Dumbledore had told him about, how could he have forgotten?

_"I'm bringing in some outside help, Remus. I hope you don't mind."_

This kid, Kakashi- he had to be who Dumbledore was talking about.

_"He'll be coming as a student, but his power is not that of any ordinary thirteen-year old. Remus, have you ever heard of the shinobi of the Hidden Continent?"_

Unable to help himself, Lupin cracked an eye to get a look at the "shinobi". He wore dark clothes and had a medium build, if a little on the small side. What drew the werewolf's attention was the shock of white-gray hair that jutted almost vertically from his head. Did everyone from the Hidden Continent have white hair? Almost out of sight was the side of a black sweatband like thing around the boy's head. Quickly Lupin shut his eye again when Kakashi began to turn his way.

So this was a shinobi. Like everyone else, he'd only heard rumors. Shinobi- real life ninjas, fast enough to kill you before you could draw your wand, and ruthless enough to do it solely for pay. He wasn't one to believe stories like that, but being a werewolf gave him sharper instincts than most- and his instincts told him that Kakashi was _dangerous_ and the rumors were deadly accurate.

This was who Dumbledore hired? This is who was supposed to keep Harry safe?

**.X.X.X.X.**

"Expecto Patronum!" Lupin roared. The Dementors retreated to the back of the car and away from Kakashi. This was certainly _not_ how he had expected the simple train ride to turn out.

"Go. Sirius Black isn't hiding under our cloaks." The Dementors hesitated. His wolf patronus growled. Then all at once the hooded monsters glided out the back door.

"Kakashi!" The white-haired boy was on the ground, shaking and staring wide eyed at nothing. He'd never seen anything like this. Lupin picked him up and half dragged, half carried the boy into the compartment.

"Move off the bench, please." The wizard kept his voice level. The kids were already scared enough; he needed to keep calm for them. Harry was crumpled on the floor.

"What happened to Harry?" he asked.

Hermione found her voice. "He- he collapsed. What happened to Kakashi?"

"Never mind that, just make room." The students crammed onto one bench, and Lupin laid Kakashi clumsily on the other. The boy was still shaking, and Harry didn't look good either. Lupin slapped the black-haired boy a little, and after a moment he opened his eyes. "Wh-what?"

"Good. You're awake. Ron, help him up- try to make some room." The four children squeezed themselves onto the narrow seat. Harry and the little red-haired girl were still pale and could use some chocolate, but Kakashi needed the professor's attention more.

The shaking hadn't gotten any better, and his breathing was erratic and shallow. What on _earth_ had happened? He'd never heard of a reaction this severe.

But then, Kakashi was a shinobi. Maybe the rumors about underage soldiers were true. The sweatband he'd noticed earlier was tilted to cover the boy's left eye- had it been lost in a fight?

Lupin shook the thought away. A werewolf had no place believing rumors. Kakashi needed his help. Chocolate wouldn't work, not while he was unconscious and couldn't eat it.

He tried a few spells, anything that might help. Calming spells, cheering spells, sleeping charms- nothing was working.

The little girl was crying.

Damn! Nothing was working. The only things that worked against Dementors were chocolate and the patronus charm-

_That's it! _Carefully Lupin muttered the spell and let a small, controlled, silvery patronus fall from his wand onto Kakashi. Immediately the shaking began stilling and breathing steadied. Tense minutes went by, and eventually the boy appeared to be merely sleeping.

Lupin let out a huge breath and put away his wand.

"Is he alright, Professor? What... happened?" asked Hermione timidly.

"That's what I want to know." Lupin muttered to himself.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

"I don't want chocolate," Kakashi said for the tenth time. All he wanted was to be left _alone._

Kakashi rubbed at Obito's eye with the heel of his hand. His eye, head, whole body ached and he could still feel the Dementor-cold in his bones. Whatever the creatures had done it drained his chakra to less than half, and what was left felt sore and frazzled. The feeling was rather like when he tried to redirect a lightning jutsu too powerful for him- it had torn through his chakra system and shorted it out.

"You just nearly got your soul sucked out. Chocolate will make you feel better!" insisted Lupin.

"I'm _fine._"

Rin would've disagreed and forced him to admit it, but he pushed her out of his mind as best he could. The images and voices lingered at the edge of his consciousness and he couldn't afford another attack.

_Fucking_ Dementors. Looks like he wouldn't be working with them any time soon.

"Professor Lupin, what happened? Why did me and Kakashi faint but no one else? I get the soul-sucking part but… why us?" ventured Harry.

"Well," Lupin gave a half-laugh, "Kakashi tried to fight them, which might have added to the problem."

"He _what?_"

Kakashi shrugged and pushed himself into sitting position. The small movement made his stomach clench. Suddenly he realized the train had stopped. Were they already there? Damn. He'd wanted more time to rest.

Standing, he wavered for a moment and almost blacked out again before righting himself.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Hermione with furrowed brows.

"I'm _fine._" Kakashi was unaware of the killing intent he accidentally let off.

The rest of the evening passed in a slight haze. His mind was exhausted, and the shinobi couldn't seem to hold a thought in his head for long. As they stepped into the pouring rain Kakashi barely remembered to throw on the Hogwarts cloak. Everyone else was in full uniforms. The crowd of students was suffocating, but his senses had adjusted to magic by then and it no longer bothered him.

Even the bat-like horses pulling carriages barely phased him. _One hell of a welcome wagon,_ was all he thought as one snorted, showing pointed teeth. Hermione glanced worriedly at him and Kakashi ignored her.

What he really wanted was to go to sleep, but apparently there was some sort of dinner first. Mentally he berated himself for his fatigue; when he was eleven he'd once fought off two Iwa Chunnin _after_ having been under a torture genjutsu for an hour. What was it about the Dementor that shook him up so badly?

"Kakashi, this will be your first time in the Great Hall, right?" asked Harry unexpectedly. Hermione and Ron looked at him strangely as the wizard boy tried to break the uncomfortable silence in the carriage.

"Yes." Actually it was his second, but he wasn't about to tell the kids _that._

"It's _amazing_. The ceiling is spelled so it looks like the sky, and it's huge."

"Come to think of it, do you think Kakashi should've gone with the first years? He hasn't been sorted yet," said Hermione.

"You better get into Gryffindor," added Ron. Ravenclaw is okay if you like books, but Slytherin is the worst one by far. There isn't a dark wizard that didn't come from Slytherin, you know."

"You forgot Hufflepuff, Ron. It's not bad either," admonished Hermione.

"Well Hufflepuff's alright, I guess. Better than Slytherin. Can you imagine if he got stuck with Malfoy?"

"Wait, wait." Interrupted Kakashi; he hadn't followed any of what they just said. "What the _hell_ is a Hufflepuff?"

"Hogwarts has four houses everyone is sorted into. Each house has- actually," said Hermione as the carriage creaked to a stop, "you'll see when you get there, the hat will explain. Just sit with us, Dumbledore will call you up if he needs to."

_Call me up for what?_ Wondered Kakashi, who was still confused about the 'house' thing. Why would they divide the students? Wouldn't that just turn them against each other?

No matter. Hogwarts was as huge and fancy as ever, though it was less cavernous with so many people filling it. They followed the crowd into the huge room Kakashi had eaten lunch in before. Had that really only been yesterday?

Five massive tables adorned the room this time; four on the floor and one smaller staff table on a raised platform overlooking them. It reminded him vaguely of the ANBU cafeteria, just with more noise, more children, and floating candles strewn everywhere. The moment he sat down Kakashi was hit with a wave of fatigue. He rested his head on the table and continued to be amazed how much the Dementors drained his chakra in such a short time. Not just his chakra, but his mind was still reeling from the attack.

Once, twice, three times he thought he heard Rin's laugh or a snatch of Obito's loud voice. Three times he forced himself not to look up because it was just his frazzled mind playing tricks on him again.

"You okay?" asked Harry.

"Tired," mumbled Kakashi. The shinobi closed his eye and let his senses spread around the room. The candles didn't smell too strongly. With satisfaction he noticed that he could now pick out individual magic signatures instead of just sensing one mass of energy, thought he couldn't distinguish between them yet. Suddenly the room quieted. Kakashi looked up. An old hat was sitting on a stool and the whole school fixated on it. What the…? Suddenly a seam moved on the hat, and a raspy voice echoed throughout the room.

A hat. Was. Singing. What? Kakashi exhaled and put his head back on the table. This place was just- Obito would _love_ it here. The thought came unbidden to his mind.

The hat finished its song, which was something about the four houses. McGonagall called out "Alden, Ana!" A small blonde girl stepped out of a group of children and McGonagall placed the hat on her head.

"SLYTHERIN!"

So the hat placed people in houses. Did it just choose randomly? He tuned out the rest of the sorting and concentrated on eavesdropping on those around him. It wasn't hard; there were more than a few whispers pointed in his direction.

"… what's up with the hair?"

"No, his eyes are too dark to be albino…"

"…kind of cool looking, don't you think?"

"Transfer student? Never heard of that…"

"…eye patch- thing…"

"…Dementors! Those were awful."

"My brother saw him in the train corridor right before the Dementors showed up. He said there was flash of white light…"

Damn. Kakashi had hoped no one had seen anything with the Dementors. Hopefully no one would realize exactly what had happened.

"... welcome our new transfer student, Kakashi Hatake!" Said shinobi's head snapped up. Dumbledore gestured him up to where the other children had been sorted. Self-consciously Kakashi tugged his headband more snugly over Obito's eye. He could feel the stares of the entire room on him as he walked quickly to the front of the room and sat on the stool. Keeping his chin up, Kakashi braced for whatever the sorting hat was about to do.

"A shinobi, eh? Haven't seen one of you in a while." Kakashi violently jumped at the voice in his ear. How did it know…?

"I look into your mind to see what house I should put you in. Just relax."

_I won't let you look into my mind. I can't let my village secrets be-_

There was a sensation of something sliding into his skull, unlike any interrogation technique he'd ever felt.

_Wait-_

"I said relax. I won't look at anything dangerous."

Well, it wasn't as if he had a clue how to defend against it anyway. Slowly and carefully he relaxed his mental walls.

"Alright then. Hm, let's see… you've changed much in your life. There was a time I might of put you in Ravenclaw. You're very intelligent, creative - but there's more to you than just that. More than loyal enough for Hufflepuff, but that's not right either. Brave and courageous of course, but far from reckless. You have a way of analyzing a problem before trying to solve it. Determination, resourcefulness, and cunning have kept you alive many times."

Kakashi was aware of the stares of the school on him. He wished the hat would hurry up.

"You're a difficult one, you know. A year ago I may have put you in Gryffindor. But you don't trust people anymore, do you? Cunning… intelligence… A natural leader… not much ambition, but you _are_ pure-blooded… I'll have to say-"

"SLYTHER-!"

_WAIT!_

The hat stopped mid-word.

_You have to put me in Gryffindor! If you know my mind you must know my mission. Being in another house will mean I'm away from Harry, won't it? I have a job to do!_

"I've never put a person in a house I didn't feel they were meant to be in. But I don't think you're going to budge on this. Guess it better be GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat shouted the last word to the applause of the Gryffindor table. But almost as loud were the murmurs of the other tables, especially Slytherin. Kakashi ignored them all as he made his way back to his seat.

"Blimey, that was new," stated Ron. "I've never heard of the Sorting Hat changing his mind like that. What was that about?"

Kakashi shrugged. Dumbledore started making a speech and he only half listened.

"Not that we didn't want you in Gryffindor," added Harry. "It almost put me in Slytherin too you know, back when I was sorted."

A thought struck him. "The hat said I was 'pure blood'. What does that mean?"

"It means you come from an all magical family. Do you?"

By that thinking, he _was_ a pureblood- the shinobi equivalent, anyway. His father was a Hatake and his mother a blue-blooded Inuzuka. It was from her that Kakashi inherited his sense of smell and hearing, pointed teeth, and ninken.

"Yes. Is pure blood important?"

Hermione made a face. "Only to Slytherins. They're obsessed with blood-purity."

"It doesn't matter. I'm a pure blood and Hermione's a muggle-born, and she's loads better at magic than I am," agreed Ron, and Hermione blushed.

Kakashi had a wave of nostalgia. He was sure Obito had said the same thing about Rin's civilian roots, years ago. The thought made his chest clench and he pushed it away with an effort. What was wrong with him today?

Dumbledore finished speaking and food (literally) magically appeared on the tables. Various dishes covered every square inch, and Kakashi could only guess at what they were. But he wouldn't have to worry about that; right in front of him was a gigantic steaming bowl of pork miso ramen, complete with chopsticks. It was possibly the best think that had happened to him all day. Snapping apart the chopsticks he dug in with relish. It wasn't up to say, Ichiraku standards, but it was enough to calm his nerves and the cold in the pit of his stomach.

"Say, Kakashi…" asked Harry hesitantly after a while. "How did you, I mean, you don't have to answer but- what happened to your eye?"

The shinobi's chopsticks froze.

"Accident."

"Oh. Will it get better…?"

_Obito's weak voice as he lay beside him. _

_"Sorry about the scar… That was my fault." _

_"No-" Kakashi gritted his teeth as Rin cut a nerve of his ruined eye. "It's like you said. Girls think scars are cool, right?"_

_A strained laugh. "Sharingan's way cooler…"_

"No. It won't ever heal."

He stood up. The scrap of a good mood the ramen had given him was gone.

"I'm going to the room." Stares followed the white-haired boy all the way to the door, where he slipped into a side hallway. Leaning against the wall, he slid down the stone into a crouch and rested his head on his arm.

What was wrong with him? He'd spent years, _years_ teaching himself to block things out. Now he couldn't go ten minutes without remembering something that made his chest ache with emotion. Content to just stay put until Harry came out, because of course he had to wait for him, Kakashi rested his head against the cool stone and wondered if he could take a nap without letting his guard down too much.

"Kakashi, there you are." The Jonin opened his eye and glanced at Madame Pomfrey, the nurse.

Great.

"Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead explaining what had happened. Dumbledore didn't want me to interrupt your sorting, and I couldn't catch you beforehand. Did Lupin give you anything for the Dementor?"

Kakashi glared, but answered. "Lupin did… something that woke me up. And he give- gave me candy."

"Chocolate, you mean? Good to know we finally have a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies. Here, stand up and let me take your temperature. Awful things, Dementors, especially to those who- goodness!"

Kakashi was unprepared for the wave of nausea that hit him when he tried to stand. His vision tipped and darkened and he fell against the wall, breathing deeply.

"Oh, dear! Are you alright?"

"Fine. What do you want?" he demanded acerbically. He was _fine,_ why couldn't they just leave him the _hell alone?_

"Professor Lupin said you were unconscious for a _half an hour_ on the train, and that it took a concentrated patronus to revive you! I've never heard of such a reaction; you need to stay the night at the hospital wing at least!"

"Well, seeing as he tried to _fight_ them, I'm just relieved he still has his soul." Kakashi's attention snapped to Lupin, who had just walked up. "Excuse me for interruption, but I was concerned as well. Is he alright, Madame Pomfrey?"

"I would know if he would let me examine him," the nurse huffed.

"I'm _fine_. I only need sleep."

"Sleep might not be enough. You realize what Dementors are, don't you? They would've sucked your _soul_ out if I hadn't been there."

"I don't believe in a 'soul'."

"If I'd been any later it wouldn't have mattered," said Lupin stone-faced.

"Wait. Did you say he tried to fight the _Dementors?_" said the nurse suddenly.

"And he got one too," Lupin half-laughed. "What spell was that, anyway, Kakashi? Not any patronus I've ever seen."

"Spell? I don't know spells. That was instinct." _And desperation,_ he added silently.

"Instinct, huh? Maybe it was like untrained children's magic. That reminds me- here." Lupin pulled Kakashi's red and black wand out of his pocket. "You left it on the train. Be more careful." The shinobi took it and peered at the tip. The red wood was blackened and a bit of varnish had been burned off. Pocketing it and deciding to figure that out later, he said, "Pomfrey-sa- Madame Pomfrey, I am not staying in the infirmary."

"I will absolutely not let-"

"You forget I have a job. The first night is highest chance of something happening."

"Nothing's going to happen. This is a safe place, you have to know that."

"Of course I do. But I will not take a risk." The battle of wills, with the addition of killing intent, lasted only a moment.

Pomfrey sighed with a slight shiver. "Alright, you win. But only if you let me take a look at you first." Kakashi nodded. She took his pulse and temperature, both of which were a bit high and made her cluck her tongue disapprovingly.

"Letting Dementors on a train full of children, the very _idea_…" the old witch muttered. "Do you have any symptoms? Fatigue, or trembling?"

"Just tired," Kakashi said.

"He was shaking like a leaf before I used the patronus. And I'm sure he almost fainted at least twice afterwards." Kakashi sent Lupin a sidelong, murderous glare the wizard pretended not to notice.

"And you know Madame Pomfrey, Dementors affect those who have- seen bad things the worst." A look passed between the two adults. Pity? Fear? Kakashi couldn't quite place it.

"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary when they were near? Strange sounds? Temperature change?" asked the woman.

"It was cold. And I heard- old memories." Kakashi had the feeling that an abridged truth would get him out of there quicker than an all-out lie.

The old nurse sighed. "From the sound of it they attempted a Dementor's kiss- you nearly lost your soul. Goodness, are you _sure_ you won't stay the night?"

"Yes. Sleep will refill my chakra."

Kakashi got two questioning looks, so he explained.

"Chakra is like magic. Life energy. The Dementors drained it. But sleep will fix it." A more accurate description was that it felt like someone had attempted to _tear_ his chakra system from his very body, but he kept that to himself.

Voices drifted up the hallway, announcing that dinner had ended. His charge was near the front of the group.

"I still can't _believe_ you asked about his eye, Harry, don't you think maybe he didn't want to talk about it?" he heard Hermione say, out of earshot if he hadn't been half Inuzuka.

"Oi! Kakashi!" said Ron's voice from the crowd, and the three friends trotted over.

Madame Pomfrey put on a kinder face than the one she had been wearing as they approached. "Oh, Harry, you saved me having to find you. Professor Lupin said you also had some trouble with the Dementors."

"I'm fine, really. Professor Lupin gave me some chocolate."

"Are you sure you're alright? You look a bit clammy."

"No, I feel great." Harry seemed about as excited to talk about the incident as Kakashi was.

"Well, if Kakashi's not going to the hospital wing, I suppose it's not fair to make Harry. Here, take this-" she handed both boys chocolate bars, "and eat some before you go to bed."

A moment later they rejoined the flood of students heading to the dorms, and Kakashi was reminded unpleasantly of the fact that he probably should take a long patrol around the grounds after everyone else was asleep. For the first week or so the chance of attack was high and until then he had to stay on his toes.

_"Dammit,"_ he muttered. Harry gave him a sidelong glance; come to think of it Kakashi hadn't done the greatest job gaining the other teens' trust. All three were friendly enough, but the Dementor episode made them wary once again. Having his charge be friendly with him would make things _so_ much easier…

An idea came to him suddenly. He just might be able to kill two birds with one stone.

"Do you," he said, interrupting whatever the others were talking about, "want to see shinobi magic?"

"You mean your kind of spells?" asked Hermione, her face lighting up. The boys looked intrigued as well.

The shinobi led them down a hallway he remembered being fairly hidden. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, he pulled his summoning scroll out of his cloak pocket and laid it on the ground. The familiar ink markings looked out of place in the ancient stone castle. Conscious of the three wizards scrutinizing him, Kakashi pricked his thumb on his tooth, focused his depleted and frazzled chakra, and made the hand signs.

_Kuchinose no jutsu!_ A puff of white smoke, and his pack appeared.

"Yo," said Pakkun.

"Bloody hell!" said Ron.

"_Who're these brats? Where are we, anyway?_"

_"Right, I never told you guys about this mission, did I?" _Kakashi switched back to his native tongue with relish. Risu, one of the youngest and most adventurous of his dogs, trotted forward and sniffed Hermione, who patted her black-and-white head.

_"I like them,"_ she said and panted happily.

"Did that dog just _talk?_" gasped Harry.

"Harry, you live in a magic castle with a singing hat. Are you honestly surprised by a talking dog?"

"I suppose…" he trailed off.

_"Hey, that's that other language you speak! Are we on the Outside?"_ yipped Uhei.

_"Yeah, it's a guard mission. The one with the black hair is the priority, but let's not let anyone get killed, alright? I want you to keep a constant perimeter around the school for tonight and tomorrow. Later we can loosen up the security, but until then be extra careful. Call me if anyone suspicious shows up, and send someone to report back in the morning. Got it?"_

There was a collection of yips, tail wags and '_hai_'s, and his pack trotted off. Pakkun jumped up on top of Dai, a huge wolf- like dog, and Kakashi rolled his eyes at his pug's laziness.

"Where are they going?"

"They want to explore."

"I don't think you're allowed to have that many pets," said Hermione disapprovingly.

"Only Pakkun might stay in the dorm. The others will stay in the summon world."

"Summon world?" asked Harry. Kakashi gave an explanation of animal summoning with his limited vocabulary that only Hermione seemed to understand as they followed a group of Gryffindors to a large portrait of a fat woman in a pink dress. Kakashi had realized yesterday that it was a secret passage, but hadn't guessed it led to an entire dorm. They said goodbye to Hermione in the common room and went up the stairs to the right. Kakashi was in Harry and Ron's room, of course, and according to them the room had been magically expanded to fit his bed. It was up against a wall with a large window; a perfect way to get in and out unnoticed.

The day's events hit him as he fell exhausted into the thick Western-style mattress, barely remembering to kick off his shoes. Sleep was far from peaceful and he could still feel the frigid aftereffects of the Dementors in his body. After waking up from a nightmare for the third time, Kakashi eyed the chocolate he had left on his headboard. Madame Pomfrey said it would help. But he _hated_ candy. His last nightmare lingered like an old would in the back of his mind, reminding him what the rest of the night would be like without treatment.

_"Fine. You win,"_ he said out loud. Choking down it's bitter sweetness and an ANBU sleeping pill in one swallow, Kakashi had just enough time to wince at the taste before he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

Not so very far away a man with pale eyes smiled.

"So he's arrived, has he? Good... we've waited long enough."

.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

**Word Count- 7,096**

**_A/N: _**

So… the update time was better! Just 4 weeks this time. I already had a portion of this chapter written beforehand, but it still took me 3 weeks to do the first draft and another week to finish editing.

If you found the Very Potter Musical quote, then virtual cookies for you! Or, as my friend says, "idea toast".

As far as I know I'm the first one to ever make Kakashi an Inuzuka. How did you like that?

Happy birthday to me! (a few days ago!) I got a Miyazaki film, Kingdom Hearts, ANBU Kakashi fanart and a Pakkun keychain. Pretty much the best (and nerdiest) birthday ever.

**Poll-**

I got some great answers to last chapter's question of Kakashi's house. You made me want to sort him into Slytheriffinhuffleclaw. Hufflepuff, surprisingly, got the most support. As for why I chose Slytherin for the house he was "sorted into", you have to remember that there's more to Slytherin than ambition. The Snake house is also resourceful, cunning, shrewd, determined, and has natural leadership qualities, all of which describe Kakashi. Gryffindor is too reckless, Ravenclaw too bookish, and Hufflepuff too… nice.

Here are bits from my favorite reviews arguing each house, and why I chose them.

**Gryffindor**:

Animebookfreaker- "…Kakashi would probably choose to be in Gryffindor just for his mission. I can just imagine him arguing with the hat. The hat said you choose to be in what house you want to be in."

_For calling pretty much exactly what happened._

**Slytherin:**

The Last Hatake-** "**Kakashi being ANBU knows how to be cunning, and the shinobi world being the shinobi world, Kakashi guaranteed knows about and is capable of acting cruel. In addition to that, his previous experiences have given him a dark personality-one that knows about how unfair life can be- which is too dark for the other houses of 'light'."

_For pointing out that both Kakashi and the House of Snakes are kind of evil._

**Hufflepuff: **

BLAZ m- "Hufflepuff because as much of an antisocial asshat he is, he's shinobi. Loyalty to ones team, ones Kage, ones village and mission.

_For a good point and use of the word "asshat"._

**Ravenclaw:**

skie89-"Also his secondary mission is to research and gather information about wizards, Ravenclaws would ignore the large amount of time he spends studying in the library to accomplish this. It would also explain his lack of social grace since Ravenclaws are known for being a bit socially inept."

_For being true to Ravenclaw's practical nature._

**Honorable Mention:**

TeamJemTeamMalec- "He's killed way too many people to be a Hufflepuff. Just saying."

_For a pretty much undeniable argument._

No poll for this chapter, but what have you manga readers thought of the last few chapters? By the way this story will not follow what we just found out. I might incorporate in some parts so the plot makes sense (as this is a mostly cannon story), but in this story something _else_ happened, that is actually creepily similar to the manga- more on that later.

And we found out Rin's last name FINALLY. It's "Nohara".

**Review if you liked it! They make updates come faster!**


	7. First Day, First Kill

Disclaimer: I _still_ have to put these in here? Honestly. I didn't own Naruto or Harry Potter last chapter, and surprisingly that hasn't changed.

A/N-Well, I tried for a 4 week update and got 6 weeks. For whatever reason this chapter took two weeks to edit instead of the usual one. Sorry!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Seven: First Day, First Kill<span>**

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"…Tie."

"Rock, paper scissors!"

"Oh, man…"

"What are you doing?" Asked Dean Thomas, buttoning his shirt.

"We're trying to decide who has to wake Kakashi up."

"Why do you need rock, paper, scissors to decide that?"

_Because he's scary, and seems like the kind to punch people who wake him up._ Thought Harry, who, being the loser, stepped over his trunk to where Kakashi's bed still had its curtains closed.

"Um, hey. It's time to get up." He rattled the curtains a bit. There was a pause, and then they snapped open.

"What?" grumbled Kakashi. Harry tried not to burst out laughing. Seemingly unnoticed by Kakashi was a little brown dog dozing on his head. The headband was missing, but the pug's small paw was stretched out over the elusive eye.

"Kakashi, there's a, um," Harry pointed at his head.

The white-haired boy said something in his language; the dog replied by yawning widely. Kakashi sighed and shut the curtains. Harry finished getting ready and was about to leave when the new student emerged fully dressed save his tie in one hand. The pug trotted behind him.

"We're allowed to have dogs? What's his name?" asked Seamus.

"I don't know. And Pakkun." Their two other dorm mates looked on in awe. Pakkun trotted off somewhere on their way to breakfast. Harry, Ron, and Kakashi arrived a bit late, and were joined by Hermione a few minutes later.

"How did you not get here before us? We even slept in," said Ron.

"I was talking to McGonagall about my schedule," she said dismissively, "Speaking of, have you gotten yours yet?" Right on cue their Head of House approached.

"Potter, Hatake, Weasely, here are your schedules. And Mr. Hatake, school dress code is in effect the moment you step out of your dorm- wear your tie."

Kakashi said nothing.

"You _do_ know how to tie one, don't you?" When Kakashi didn't respond McGonagall flicked her wand and the tie snaked around his neck and tied itself, which made Kakashi wince and touch his throat.

"You really didn't know how to tie a tie?"

Muttering something in his language, Kakashi pulled out a book and read while he ate.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

Divination was the first class of the day and Kakashi, who had the same schedule as Harry, glared suspiciously at the trapdoor in the ceiling. He'd woken that morning with a clear head and had been looking forward to not feeling sick; so much for that. Already the smell of scented candles was making him nauseous. Another wave of fumes hit him as the trapdoor creaked open and a silvery ladder descended to the ground. Channeling chakra away from his nose with all his might, Kakashi climbed up.

_Is this really a classroom?_ The blinds were drawn, trapping the smell and sticky warmth inside. Round tables with squishy pink chairs crowded every corner. Kakashi headed straight for the table closest to a window. As the others sat down he flicked back a blind, forced open the lock and cracked the window a few inches. He hung his head out and took a deep breath, stomach churning. What the _hell_ was this teacher trying to do? Even for non-Inuzukas, this was over the top. It reminded him of when Obito had somehow hit him with a stink bomb. The stench in the room was so strong he could barely pick out what was in it- perfume, scented candles, tea, and wait- were those hallucinogens?

"Are you alright?" asked Harry. Kakashi closed the blinds regretfully- the light they let in was too conspicuous. At least the open window was some small relief.

"I have a really good nose. This room smells."

"You can say that again." said Ron. Just then the teacher entered.

"Welcome," she said in a misty voice, "How nice to see you in the material world at last." Skinny, huge glasses, glitzy clothes- Trelawney was exactly as Kakashi remembered her from when they met in Dumbledore's office.

"My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye."

Nobody said anything to this extraordinary pronouncement. Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued, "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of the magical arts. I must warn you that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you… Books can take you only so far in this field…"

The Jonin ignored rest of what she said and focused on not throwing up. Maybe Dumbledore would let him drop this class. And it wasn't just the smell that made him want to leave; he'd just remembered what this class taught.

Fortune telling was not something Kakashi believed in. Jiraiya's Great Toad Elder had said Minato-sensei would be the "Savior of the World". If some renowned summons couldn't even tell if someone was going to _die_ or not, why the hell would he believe tea dregs?

"You could at least pretend to try, even if it is pointless," said Hermione, snapping him out of his thoughts. The witch also seemed less than excited for the subject. Finishing his tea, Kakashi flipped to the page in the textbook and examined Hermione's teacup.

"It's a- apple? That is… finishing school." He was awful at reading as it was; being on the verge of fainting and the fact that the content was pointless wasn't making things any easier.

"Alright, yours looks like a blob. This is ridiculous. Why would tea know my future?" Scoffed Hermione. Unfortunately Trelawney passed by at that moment.

"One must never question the mystical arts, Ms. Granger… let me see Mr. Hatake's cup, if you would…" The bespectacled teacher peered intently into the cup, turning her head at odd angles.

"Let's see, yes, it's becoming clearer now. The candle- you will soon be enlightened of the thing troubling you."

_Nothing's troubling me._

"Cat- a deceitful relative."

_I don't have any relatives. I cut ties to the Inuzuka years ago._

"And- oh no, dear boy! You have… you have…" she dropped the cup and it shattered.

Suddenly she turned on Harry. "Quick dear, your cup too!" Trelawney snatched it out of his hands.

"Oh, heavens… dear boys… don't ask, it's kinder not to say…" The whole class was transfixed on them now, crowding around Harry's cup.

"You have… both of you… the Grimm! The omen of death!"

_And I'm a shinobi. Tell me something I don't know._

The class gasped collectively. The idiots actually believed this stuff?

"I don't think it looks like a Grimm." Stated Hermione flatly.

Trelawney, eyes brimming with tears, pretended she hadn't spoken. "Dear, _two_ Grimms in one class… I think it's best to leave it at that. Class dismissed."

Quietly the class packed their things. Kakashi ignored his shattered teacup and practically tore open the trapdoor to fresh air. The class followed, carrying the stink with them. Everyone except Hermione kept giving him and Harry fearful or pitying looks all the way to their next class. Kakashi, well used to this kind of treatment, brushed them off much better than Harry did.

Transfiguration was next and taught by McGonagall, who'd struck Kakashi as a no-nonsense kind of person. He wasn't disappointed; the witch quickly dispelled the tension in the air.

"I'll have you know, Potter, Hatake, that Sybill Trelawney has predicted the death of a student every year since she began teaching here. None of them have died yet. Death omens are her favorite way of greeting a new class, though she's never predicted _two_ deaths." McGonagall huffed. "She's outdone herself this year. Now if you would please turn to page eight in your textbooks…"

The witch began the class by turning into a cat. Any Genin could do the same with a henge, but this didn't look like an illusion. It garnered a scattered applause from the class, who hadn't quite recovered from the Grimm. While a student was handing out scraps of cotton fabric to be transformed into wood, McGonagall went up to the shinobi.

"Mr. Hatake, as this is your first transfiguration, you will be starting with first year tasks. Ms. Granger, explain to him the basics." McGonagall took out her wand, tapped the desk, and a wooden match appeared. "Transfigure this into a pin by the end of the lesson."

Hermione gave him a rather detailed explanation of the fundamentals of transfiguration, few of which actually helped his main problem- the fact that he'd never used magic before in his life. After a bit of trial and error Kakashi discovered that he could draw on his magic while holding his wand. Every time he did the light at the tip glowed brightly, with a prickle of energy that felt very different than chakra. It was rather like discovering a seldom used muscle- weak, but it was there. After a while the shinobi had a rather consistent grasp on the new energy. Class ended before he had a chance to work on the match, but he resolved to practice later. Turning wood into weapons- _that_ was useful.

At lunch Kakashi made the unfortunate discovery that the other students had gotten over their shyness. He'd hoped that the whole death omen thing would scare them off.

"Is your hair naturally like that?"

"Yes."

"Where are you from?"

"Japan."

"What school did you go to?"

"Mahoutokoro."

"What's it like there?"

"Warmer."

"Do you dye your hair?"

"Someone asked that already. No."

"What's wrong with your eye?"

"None of your business."

"You have a _puppy?_"

"Pakkun!"

The pug hopped onto the table. His hia-te and vest were gone; Kakashi's idea.

"Yo."

_"And where have you been?"_

_"Exploring."_

_"Shouldn't you be patrolling with the others?"_

_"I'm reporting."_

_"And?"_

Pakkun sniffed some ham sandwiches and very politely picked one up with his teeth. _"That,"_ he said with his mouth full, _"is a weird. Ass. Forest. No suspicious people, but…"_

_ "You saw the spiders too, huh?"_

"Mr. Hatake, are you aware of this school's policy on pets?" drawled a voice behind him. Kakashi turned and raised an eyebrow. Snape again?

"No."

"Pets are not allowed outside of dormitories during school hours. This _includes_ lunch break, Hatake. Get it back to your room or I'm giving you detention."

_"What is he saying?"_ asked Pakkun, who was now holding the sandwich between his paws and gnawing on it.

_"That you're a pet and not allowed to leave the dorm." _

The pug bristled and growled _"I am not a pet you smelly bastard! Go to hell!"_

"I will not translate that," Kakashi said, "But Pakkun doesn't want to leave." ANBU and teacher locked eyes for a moment, and there was a battle of wills. Something flashed in his eye, and Snape promptly stalked off, emanating the best killing intent the shinobi had felt from a wizard.

"That was _awesome!_ I like you, little dog!" said Ron, who reached out to pet him. Pakkun, looking bored, bit him on the hand.

"Ouch, you little mutt! Let go!"

"_Pakkun, be nice. It's just a civilian._"

_"You know I hate being petted!"_

After the stifling castle the walk outside to their next class, "Care of Magical Creatures", was wonderful.

"Oh no. We're with the Slytherins," moaned Ron.

Indeed a few kids Kakashi recognized from the Slytherin table were in the crowd at the edge of the forest.

"C'mon, c'mon! Get a move'n!" The largest man Kakashi had ever seen, wearing a fur coat that still smelled of the poor animal it had come from, stood on the steps of a worn-down stone hut. English had come pretty easily to Kakashi in the last few days, but he could barely understand what he was saying.

"Who is that?" asked Kakashi who, though he was pretty sure this was the half-giant from Dumbledore's files, wanted to be sure.

"Just the village idiot," interrupted a Slytherin, "And who are you again?"

"I'm Kakashi Hatake." He stuck his hand out as was the custom in this country. The boy shook it.

"Draco Malfoy. You're the transfer, right? Too bad, getting stuck in Gryffindor when you were so close to Slytherin."

"I didn't choose my house." Kakashi said wryly.

"Yeah, well, are you a pureblood?"

"Yes, my mother and father were from clans." Hermione was right; Slytherins did care about lineage.

"Clans?" asked Malfoy.

"Clans are… very old magical families."

"Really?" Now Malfoy looked interested, "Where were you from again?"

"Japan."

Malfoy smirked. "Well, Kakashi, I'll see you around then."

The blonde turned and left, two burly lackeys following.

"That was weird," remarked Ron. "Usually he sticks around and acts like a git for a while longer."

"You really shouldn't talk to him like that. Malfoy's hated me since first year," added Harry. Kakashi shrugged; he wasn't one to have strong opinions on people he just met. Or people in general.

"A'righ, ev'ryone got their books?" Hagrid's booming voice cut in. They were standing just inside the forest at the edge of an empty paddock. It smelled strangely like horses and eagles.

"How are we even supposed to _open_ these?" Malfoy held his quivering book up; it was bound with a length of rope. Other students had shut their books with tape, belts, or binder clips. Kakashi's had a web of ninja wire.

"Yeh mean… hasn' anyone bin able ta open yer books?" asked the man, looking crestfallen. Hagrid spotted Kakashi, who happened to be nearby.

"W'ats yer name again?"

"Kakashi Hatake."

"Alrigh', Kerashi, gimme yer book."

_That's not even close to my name._ Kakashi unwound the ninja wire, causing the book to clap wildly. Using a trick he knew from training puppies, he channeled a bit of chakra into the book. It wasn't painful, just uncomfortable, and worked like magic on overexcited ninken. But this time his book let out a high-pitched, awful screech then abruptly went limp. The class was dead silent for a moment. Kakashi cringed under the attention.

"It… died," he said uncertainly.

Hagrid transitioned quickly ."Er… well then… Hermi'ne, lemme see yer book." He undid the tape, and when the book snapped at him he ran a finger down its spine. Instantly the book fell open.

"Ye'v got ter _stroke_ them," Hagrid said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, of _course_, you have to _stroke_ them. Why didn't I guess it sooner?" mocked Malfoy.

"I… thought they were funny…" Hagrid trailed off.

"Tremendously funny! Giving us books that can rip our hands off!"

Just because Kakashi agreed with Malfoy didn't mean that wasn't rude. Hagrid went off to get the "Magical Creatures", and the moment he left Harry and Malfoy entered a verbal sparring match. At Hagrid's return, Kakashi realized why the paddock smelled of birds and horses. Sleek feathers, sharp talons, four legs and wings, Hagrid's creatures looked like a new kind of hybrid summons.

"Hippogriffs!" announced the huge man happily as he tethered them to the fence.

Ten minutes later found Kakashi facing off with a sandy colored beast. Just to his left Hermione and Ron were practicing on a speckled one while Harry watched. Kakashi was just glad his charge was on the ground again; he thought he would fail his mission for a moment there when the damn hippogriff flew off with him. His hippogriff snorted and clawed at the ground impatiently.

"Alright, alright." Kakashi was just bowing when something caught at his ear.

"This is easy. You're not so dangerous, you ugly brute! Hey- ah!"

The shinobi moved.

Seconds later, the dust settled. Malfoy was sprawled on the ground, unhurt. The hippogriff squawked and pushed its talons harder against Kakashi's raised forearm. With a grunt he threw the beast to the side. It staggered, then swung its sharp beak at him in a deadly arc.

_Thump!_

Hagrid wrestled the flustered animal back by the collar. "Oi! Kakashi! You alright? What happened?"

"I'm alright." He'd caught the beast on his armguard and had avoided most of the damage. Kakashi offered his hand to Malfoy, who took it.

"Are you hurt?"

The blonde boy shook his head. "Did you," his voice wavered a bit, "just _punch_ a hippogriff? In the _face?_"

"No." Kakashi replied cheerily.

"I'm pretty sure I just saw you-" Harry began, but Kakashi interrupted.

"You saw wrong. The hippogriff was unbalanced and it fell over. Then Hagrid pulled it away. Isn't that right, Malfoy?" The shinobi fake smiled.

After a moment's pause the Slytherin got the message. "Yeah, that's what happened. Thanks, Kakashi."

"Hagrid-sa… Professor," said Kakashi as the giant hurried over, "We should end class. The students are scared."

The man nodded hurriedly.

As the class dispersed, Kakashi questioned Hermione casually.

"What is Malfoy's father? Where does he work?"

"Well, the Malfoy family is very wealthy. I doubt he has a proper job, but he is powerful. I heard he has connections high up in the Ministry."

"That and he's one of You-Know-Who's cronies."

"Ron!"

"What? That's what Bill said…"

_I thought he seemed like the wealthy type. This isn't good. _

Kakashi glanced back at the blonde boy, who was staring at his hand with wide eyes. He'd just noticed the blood that had dripped down Kakashi's sleeve and onto his hand when he had helped him up.

_Damn. The son of an aristocrat is sure to tell his father about the 'dangerous new transfer student'. _

ANBU Inu had a feeling that this little incident was going to come back and bite him later.

They weren't even halfway back to the castle when a faint howl echoed through the forest, dustant enough that only shinobi ears could catch it.

_Already?_

"Harry, I forgot something. Will you hold my books?"

"Uh, sure, but-"

"Thank you. Go back to the castle. Don't wait for me."

"Wait-"

Kakashi was already heading towards Hagrid's hut. The moment he was out of sight he jumped up into a tree. Using a bit of blood on his hand, he summoned Pakkun.

_"You heard him too, right?"_

_"Yeah. Uhei picked up a trail. Find him."_

_"Hai!"_

Pakkun took off to the northeast, Kakashi close behind.

_"Is that blood?"_ asked Pakkun.

_"It's not as bad as it smells. Just a graze, but I think it nicked an artery."_

_"How'd it happen? I thought this place was supposed to be safe?"_

_"Relatively."_

Pakkun snorted.

_"Don't tell me this is going to be another B turned S rank."_

_"Well, technically this _is_ an S rank. But I hope not."_

Just then Uhei darted onto the tree branch next to them, panting heavily. Blood trickled from a scratch on his red-and-white haunches as he growled, totally focused on his attacker.

_"Yo, boss. I found him."_

_"Good job. Now go get that looked at."_

Uhei wagged his tail once and poofed away.

_"So the mutt was yours, eh?"_ drawled a new voice. A man with a Kiri hiate smirked at him from the side of a tree trunk. The kunai in his hand had the scent of Uhei's blood.

Kakashi shrugged off his Hogwarts cloak and let it flutter to the forest floor. Finally, something he was comfortable with.

_"Don't call my ninken mutts."_

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

"So what do you think the deal is with Kakashi?"

Harry looked up from his Transfiguration homework.

"I mean, first there's his mysterious injury that he still hasn't mentioned to anybody. Then his talking dog, which I have _never_ heard of before. Then he gets all chummy with Malfoy. Now he just disappears." Ron was right; Kakashi hadn't been at dinner or joined the other Gryffindors in the common room. Now it was getting late.

"Don't forget the Dementor, but I see what you mean. You saw what he did to that Hippogriff, didn't you?"

"Yeah. He definitely hit it. Why would he cover it up?"

"More importantly, how did he even do that in the first place? He held it off with one hand! Hippogriffs are huge, and he didn't even get hurt!"

"Of course he did," interjected Hermione. "His hand was all bloody, didn't you notice?"

"No." Replied Harry plainly. "How do you think he did it?"

Hermione sighed and turned a page in her book. "Either he's incredibly stupid, or... incredibly tough, and I don't know what's worse."

"So he was already hurt beforehand… and then today he got hurt again protecting Malfoy. What's the deal?" mused Harry.

"I still say he's a delinquent who got kicked out of his old school for fighting," said Ron.

Harry laughed. "I still think you're probably right."

"Be serious, you two!" Hermione cut in, "What if he really _is_ mixed up in something dangerous? Transfer students to Hogwarts are _extremely_ rare. What if he was sent here for his own protection?"

"Hey, it's alright 'Mione," comforted Ron. "Kakashi's tough. I'm sure he'll be fine. And besides, he's safe here. Dumbledore wouldn't let any dangerous people into Hogwarts."

"I hope you're right." Hermione sniffed. "I tried to look up Kakashi's great-uncle, you know. He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of our Time… anywhere! Kakashi said he was well-known, but- I don't know. I just don't know."

Harry still couldn't shake his feeling of uneasiness for the rest of the night.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

_"Stop messing with me, you little brat!" _

_Crash!_

_"Water Style: Water Bullets!"_

_"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"_

Kakashi crouched behind his wall and felt the water jutsu pepper the other side.

_"Ha! Gotcha!"_

Sparks sprayed sideways. Kakashi's crossed kunai quivered against his attacker's heavy katana. It was time for a counter attack.

Kakashi whipped one of his kunai away. The Kiri-nin lurched off balance. He was too slow to avoid the knife that buried into his side. The two shinobi jumped away from each other, the larger holding his wound.

_"Little bastard!" _The Kiri-nin ripped the kunai from his body and hurled it at Kakashi, who caught it in midair. Defeating him from there wasn't difficult. Only seconds later kunai were imbedded in the man's shoulders. A kick sent him up against Kakashi's earth wall from earlier.

_"Earth Style: Rock Binding!"_ Slabs of earth pulled from the wall and wound themselves around the Kiri-nin. He struggled, cursing, for a moment.

_"Give it up. You've lost."_

The man growled. A knife suddenly drew blood at his throat.

_"How long have you been watching the school?"_

_"Go to hell." _The Kiri-nin spat. The handle of Kakashi's kunai slammed onto his already injured shoulder.

_"Answer me! Who ordered you to watch the school?"_

The shinobi laughed and blood dribbled down his lip.

_"You don't know? I'm disappointed. I thought you were a genius or some-"_

For a split second fear shone in the man's eyes. Black markings snaked onto his face. The Kiri-nin screamed for a few seconds, then his head lolled forward. He was dead.

_"What was that about?"_ came a voice from behind him.

_"Pakkun? Have you been hiding this whole time?"_ The dog jumped up on him. _"And how many times do I have to tell you to stay off my head?"_

_"You didn't seem to mind this morning."_

_"Only because you were hiding my eye from Harry. That is what you were doing, right?"_

_"Nope. My paw just slipped."_

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

_"But like I said- what happened to this guy? You didn't hurt him enough to kill him that quickly," _Pakkun continued.

_"No, I didn't kill him."_ Kakashi grabbed the hair and inspected the black markings on the skin. _"I think it's a curse seal."_

_"A what?"_

_"It's kind of like what we ANBU have to destroy our bodies when we die. My guess is there's a seal on this guy to kill him if he ever starts giving information to the enemy. It probably destroyed his mind too."_

_"Someone really didn't want him leaking anything."_

_"The question is who did that. This "Voldemort" character? Other missing nin? I don't know." _Kakashi released his jutsu and the body flopped onto the ground. His shoulder ached a bit, reminding him that it wasn't quite healed yet.

_"Pakkun, get a body bag from my room. Try not to be seen."_

_"Hai."_

Ten minutes later there was a polite knock at Dumbledore's window.

"Yes?" asked the old man when he opened it, as if there was anyone else it could be. Kakashi swung up and sat on the windowsill.

"Can you send things to _Konohagakure?_"

"Yes, do you want to send a letter?"

"Not quite." Kakashi hoisted up what he had been concealing on the other side of the window.

"That isn't…" The old wizard's face went white.

"My dogs found him in the forest. It's a shinobi, don't worry," he added at Dumbledore's expression. Did he think he murdered a student or something?

"You killed…?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I was going to. But something else killed him first. A seal. My village can study it better than I can. Do you have a paper and pen that I can use?"

"Yes… on my desk." Dumbledore sat down, suddenly looking exhausted. Kakashi flopped his body bag on the floor and took some parchment and a quill, which were tricky to use but worked well enough. He penned a quick note, sealed the envelope with a bit of _Fuuinjutsu _he learned from Kushina, and stuck it in a pocket on the body bag.

"Are you hurt?" asked Dumbledore tiredly.

"No. He was only _Chunnin_ level. Easy."

"Then why are you covered in blood?"

Kakashi inspected his shirt, the whole front of which was stained red. "Oh. That isn't my blood. It's his."

Dumbledore sighed and waved his wand. The blood and grime on his clothes disappeared. "I'll have Fawkes take it to Sarutobi. And if you want dinner, just tickle the pear in the painting below the Great Hall."

"Thank you."

After a rather large dinner ninja and ninken were on their way back to the dorms.

_"I've been wondering. That guy was barely Chunnin level. Why'd you drag on the fight for so long?"_

_"Well, I'm trying to lure in the rest of the missing-nin. If I had finished him off quickly, anyone who looked at the battlefield could've told that I'm ANBU-level. So I dragged it on to make it look like I was just barely able to beat him. The missing-nin won't pick a fight with me if they thought they couldn't win, so I made it look like I was high-Chunnin level at most."_

_"I get it. You're trying to be bait instead of a scarecrow."_

_"You suck at puns, Pakkun (1), but yeah, that's the idea. What bothers me is that seal. It might just be left over from when he was a real shinobi, but if it isn't…"_

_"There's a chance it's a group of missing-nin working together." _Pakkun finished.

_"Exactly. And whoever it is, they're serious."_

Pakkun snorted. _"This is going to be more fun than I thought it was."_

* * *

><p><strong>Final Draft Word Count- 5,034<strong>

**(1)- 'Kakashi' means 'Scarecrow'.**

**A/N- **Again sorry about the lateness, but we are now officially done with the introduction chapters! Next chapter the actual non-cannon plot starts. Hooray! In case you're wondering, yes, the Boggart was supposed to happen in this chapter on the first day of school. For plot purposes I'm pushing it to next chapter (which should be out in three weeks, because I LOVE it and I always finish good chapters quicker).

Just so you know, I reply to every single review I get (that have PMs enabled.) Anonymous reviews are welcome too! I answer any questions you guys have, take suggestions and give hints about the future plot. And of course, criticisms are always wanted. Feel free to ask anything; the better the review the better the reply!

**Note- **A reviewer asked a question I want to answer here- No, Kakashi's headband covering his eye is not spelled. Just his mask is. So, people will notice and ask about his eye but not his mask.

**Note on "Pure Blood"- **Also, when I say that Kakashi's a pure blood, I don't mean that both his parents are from magical families. Even the magic on his father's side is diluted. He'd just the shinobi equivalent- he's clan. The Inuzuka and Hatake are clans just like the Uchiha or Hyuuga, only smaller and less powerful. So Kakashi's a "shinobi pureblood", unlike someone like, say, Sakura, who comes from a civilian family of no important bloodlines.

Thank you for reading, and remember, reviews = updates and answers!


	8. To be Afraid of the Dark

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.

_A/N- Alright, got this done in two weeks! Happy Doomsday! (It's a strangely appropriate day for this chapter to be posted…)_

**Chapter Eight- To Be Afraid of the Dark**

* * *

><p>The first weeks at Hogwarts passed in a tense daze. No more missing-nin appeared, and Kakashi, mindful that his ninken couldn't keep this up forever, decreased patrols after the first few days. It was risky, but also the only way to lure in more missing-nin. The ANBU's mission was to kill as many as possible, after all.<p>

Classes were going about how Kakashi had expected. He'd dropped Divination after the second class. History of Magic was pointless and Astronomy he already knew. Care of Magical Creatures was rather dull, but probably too dangerous to let Harry alone in. As for the other classes Kakashi was almost second year level. Hermione had insisted on tutoring him to get him up to speed, something he didn't want to admit had been very helpful. Defense Against the Dark Arts was interesting, but the "dangerous" creatures they dealt with were child's play. Transfiguration and Charms had battle potential once he got good enough at them, while Herbology and Potions had their medical uses.

The academics were easy, but like when he was at the Academy it was the "people" part of school that was the problem. It seemed like everyone was asking him questions about any number of topics, from his hair to his dog to his home to his accent. And if the student body was bad, then Harry, Ron, and Hermione were worse. They talked to him _all the time_, though he could tell they were still a bit suspicious of him. Yet it was his mission to stick close to them, and Kakashi berated himself for complaining. Why was it that he found a few curious teenagers more trouble than enemy ninja?

Maybe it was how much they reminded him of people who were dead.

With the huge amount of free time he suddenly had, too often Kakashi found his bored mind wandering. Too often he had to push away thoughts of the past, each time more difficult than the last. During his year in ANBU the Jonin had learned to block out everything about those people. But ever since he'd arrived in this new world, or more specifically fought the Dementor, that barrier started stretching and tearing.

Kakashi hated it. Every errant thought about _them_ brought with it a stab of pain he could do without. Sometimes he even thought about _her,_ which was worse than any of the others combined. Why couldn't he just go back to ANBU? Then he wouldn't have the time or the strength to think about those things; life was easier there. The prospect of nine whole months stuck at Hogwarts was unbearable. He found himself wishing that more missing-nin attacks would break the monotony.

Two weeks into the school year, however, things took a turn for the worse.

It started the afternoon before with an ominous sensation in his gut, as if subconsciously he knew what day it almost was. By nighttime he couldn't get the date out of his mind. Taking a double dose of sleeping pills just to get some sleep, Kakashi just hoped that tomorrow would pass quickly so he could get on with his life.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf **

"Dumbledore, I would like to have a word with you."

The old wizard stilled his quill and looked over his glasses. "What's troubling you, Severus?"

"You know very well," scoffed Snape.

"That I do. In fact I'm surprised you tolerated it this long. He's been here for two weeks already."

"And it only took him one day to _kill_ a man! I've always trusted your judgment, you know that, but this is over the line. How far is your little experiment going to go?" demanded Snape.

"It's more than just an experiment, Severus. I'm giving him an education, and Harry some much-needed protection. I-"

"You think you can _help_ him, don't you? That's foolish talk and you know it. He's a _shinobi_, not some troubled child who only needs a lemon drop and a pat on the head. Even you can't fix a murderer!"

"Severus, you've been prejudiced against him since he arrived. What happened all those years ago has nothing to do with Kakashi," said Dumbledore testily.

"It has everything to do with him! You weren't there during the war, Dumbledore! You didn't see what those shinobi-"

"I know enough! You're not the only one who's met shinobi before, Severus. They aren't as evil as you think."

"But you've also seen the body that _boy_ dragged back from the forest. Despite what farce the shinobi may have shown you, that is what Kakashi is. A killer! And you invite him into a school, treat him like just another student. Are you that blind?"

"I'm well aware of how shinobi are-" countered Dumbledore, but Snape interrupted him, his voice rising louder as he spoke.

"It couldn't have escaped your notice the kind of person he is, either. Brilliant. Anti-social. A fair bit of study in shadier topics. Complete devotion to his tasks. Even the Sorting Hat nearly put him in Slytherin. Reminds me of a certain student you once had, Dumbledore. Do you deny it? Kakashi is exactly like Voldemort!"

There was tense silence for a moment. Then Dumbledore quietly spoke.

"I admit that I regret ever letting Tom Riddle in the doors of this school. He had potential, huge potential, to do both tremendous good or evil. I failed once. Now I'm given a second chance at helping another troubled, brilliant boy. I'm determined not to fail again; bringing him here is a risk I'm willing to take."

"You're delusional, Dumbledore. If you had taught Tom Riddle for a hundred years, there was no changing how he would've turned out. What makes you think Kakashi won't go that road as well?"

"Only time will tell, I suppose. But I think deep down… Kakashi isn't bad. He's just had a very hard life at a very young age. All he needs is some time away from that world."

Snape eyed the older man, then growled in anger. "I see there's no stopping you. Just remember that I warned you- that boy is heartless. Don't blame me when you wake up with your throat slit."

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf **

Don't think about it.

That was quickly becoming the theme of the day. Don't think about when, or what, or who, or why.

It was September fifteenth.

Apparently his inattention showed in his Potions class that day. Pity, too- they were making a potion that numbed skin, something he might actually use. Snape passed by, scowled at his potion, and continued on. The man had largely ignored him, but Kakashi could feel the barely-contained hatred just below the surface. Too bad, because he was actually rather good at potions. Once he had the hang of it they were just following directions, something he had plenty of practice with. Besides he had mixed medical balms all the time with his mother before she died.

Next was lunch. Kakashi spent an unnecessary amount of effort concealing his face for the distraction of it, but in the end couldn't stomach more than a few bites.

"Are you alright, Kakashi?" asked Hermione. "You seem a bit off today."

"I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well," he fake-smiled. Lying had always been a strong suit of his. Though the ladder part was true; even with all his sleeping pills, his nerves kept him awake almost the whole night. And when he did sleep, there were only nightmares. And no wonder, considering what day it was.

Over the years Kakashi had learned that there were several advantages and disadvantages to being a genius. He could kill more efficiently and at a younger age. He completed missions more successfully, promoted earlier.

His pinpoint memory and natural analytical attention to numbers and dates, on occasion, made life Hell.

It was September fifteenth. His fourteenth birthday.

Exactly a year ago today… what did it matter? One hundred lifetimes would never change what happened. He couldn't-

Professor Lupin was late to Defense against the Dark Arts that day. When he arrived it was only to say that today would be a practical lesson; only wands were needed.

_Practical lesson might mean slight danger. Keep the students safe, but don't reveal your skills._ That was an automatic response, but it was a detached reaction; distant like everything else was that day.

They made their way downstairs to the staffroom, only interrupted by a short confrontation with the small, troublesome ghost. The staffroom was long and scattered with mismatched furniture- armchairs, tables, and a wardrobe that smelled strongly of dust and something else strange. Snape was there when they arrived. After looking over the class with a sneer, he settled into a chair out of the way, assumedly to watch.

Lupin stood next to the wardrobe, which shuddered.

"Don't worry," the teacher smiled, "There's only a Boggart in there."

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. Under beds, in desks, even in grandfather clocks. This one moved in last night and I asked the headmaster if he would leave it to give my third years some practice. Now you may be wondering, what exactly is a boggart?"

Hermione put up her hand. "It's a shape shifter. It takes on the shape of the thing you fear most."

"Perfect. So the boggart in the wardrobe has not yet assumed a shape…"

He focused on what Lupin was saying as best he could. The spell to defeat them required a happy memory- happy? On a day like this? Even on a good day that was hard. He'd been proud before, accomplished, but happy? What could he use… the day he became a Genin? No. Chunnin? No, that was when he killed that girl. His Jonin promotion? Absolutely not. Maybe, maybe… When he got Pakkun? That would have to do.

The class lined up, him at the back right behind Harry. At the other's boggarts, Kakashi felt a moment of contempt. Snape, a spider, a snake, a _clown_ for Kami's sake, and not even half of the class had gone yet. This is what civilian's nightmares were full of? Fairy tales and bats? What Kakashi would give to have nightmares like _those._

As the shinobi neared his way to the front of the excited jumble of students, for a brief moment he wondered what his greatest fear would be. It could be- no. They were already dead. Enemy ninja? The Kyuubi? Perhaps nothing would happen. He was a shinobi, a tool with no fear.

In front of him it was Harry's turn. He held his wand resolutely. The boggart warped, and-

_Shit._ A Dementor. Kakashi yanked Harry back by the robe, faced the Dementor's cold, but then-

Everyone always told him it wasn't his fault. Shinobi were tough, the toughest there were, but they had a heart too, much as they tried to deny it. Against what he saw… no one else blamed the white-haired boy for losing his cool. No one but himself, though deep down even he knew he never really stood a chance. Because no matter how much Kakashi braced himself, no matter how long he trained, not in a thousand years could he be prepared for what- for _who_- snapped into existence in front of him.

His wand clattered delicately to the ground, entirely forgotten.

No.

Two steps forward, then hesitation.

Impossible.

It- it because Kakashi wouldn't, he _couldn't_ think of it as a person- stood uncertainly. One hundred familiar things- the uneven lock of hair, soft breath, bitten-down fingernails, earthy chakra, slight tip of the head. Thin scar on a pale hand. Worn edge of a kunai pouch. Smell like a flower garden in summer. Bright, beautiful,_ alive_ brown eyes looked straight into his.

It wasn't. It wasn't. It-

"Rin."

She smiled.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

Snape was testing a theory. If Kakashi's boggart was the boy's own dead body, if his worst fear was his own selfish death, then he would be correct. Kakashi was just like Voldemort, and should be killed as soon as possible. Dumbledore wouldn't do it, but Snape would. He'd seen shinobi's work during the First Wizard War. He'd seen the death and ruthless carnage. Someone like that, worse than even Death Eaters- the destruction could be endless.

But Kakashi's fear was not his own death.

His fear was, in fact, the same as Snape's fear.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

All he could see was her. All he could hear was her soft breath. All he could feel was the overwhelming familiarity of her chakra signature.

Rin.

Kakashi's hand reached out to her of its own accord. It was _her._ Rin, who he thought was lost forever. Rin, who was buried in the ground. Rin, who he would never see again.

And he was… happy. Just happy to see her.

Only an illusion, but Kakashi had forgotten that.

From the tip of his outstretched finger, a tiny spot appeared on Rin's chest. Her expression turned to terror.

Blood blossomed into the material of her shirt.

His heart turned to ice.

"No-"

Time crawled, and seconds passed like hours. The stain spread and widened. Lips turned a garish red. The air was thick with the scent of it. Blood collapsed in on itself, sinking deeper into her chest. Then the sound- a familiar sound. Bone snapping loudly, muscle rending and blood squelching as an invisible attack pushed a hole through Rin's heart.

Dark blood- _far too _much blood- dripped neatly onto the stone floor in round splatters- _drip, drip, splash_. Skin cooled. Eyes dulled. Excruciatingly slowly, she fell to the ground with a slap, like any other he'd killed.

Just. Like. Everyone. Else.

He could feel it, like he had a hundred times before. His hand, slicing and breaking through a body. The warmth that bled up his sleeve. The deafening the sound of her blood flowing and stilling.

Chidori- his attack.

_His_ hand, as it crushed Rin's life away. Coated with her blood, sticky, putrid smelling like her death. All at once Rin had evaporated, so easily killed-

Could this… be how she died?

Kakashi couldn't handle it; suddenly he couldn't bear the sight of her. It sickened him, how all his memories of her, all the feelings, how much Kakashi _cared, _how it could all be destroyed so easily. There she was, Rin, _his Rin, dying,_ and all he could do was stand there and hate himself. Yet he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"RIDIKIULUS!"

She vanished. Rin was gone just as quickly as she had appeared. Gone again.

For a moment everything stopped. Then Kakashi fled.

Blind to anything and everything, the boy half-ran to the door, the crowd parting quickly. Past students, teachers, doors, windows- it didn't matter. When the castle was far behind him, finally he let himself fall to the forest floor.

Rin had loved him, he knew that with all his heart and soul. She had loved him, and how did he repay her? By letting her die! He hadn't been good enough for her, never would be. Kakashi was a flawed, awful person who never deserved someone as wonderful as Rin.

Then in the end, he couldn't even protect her.

_"DAMMIT!"_ A tree cracked and splintered where he punched it. But it wasn't really anger he felt. Guilt and self-hatred yes, but mostly fear, terror that chilled him to the core. Rin was so real. It was all so real. So plausible, so easy. What if… What if…? The question had quietly tormented him for what seemed like years. Somehow he'd pushed it away, over weeks and months built a thin wall around that part of his mind, around Rin. Now, with that dam shattered like glass, all the emotions came rushing back.

Without really knowing why, Kakashi pulled his tanto shakily out of its sheath. It had been broken when Obito died. But now, only a slightly discolored seam remained of the break. One year ago it had been fixed- but he didn't know how. Shaking slightly, he stared at it like it would give him answers he so desperately needed.

But the blade stayed silent, leaving only fear.

Rin was dead. That was a fact, but her death wasn't what he feared.

What he feared… he'd kept that blocked away in his mind, aware of it, yet desperately avoiding letting the thought take form.

The memory still haunted him, of the mission where Obito died. He'd left Rin to be captured and interrogated. What if he had done it again?

What if Kakashi… had killed her?

Because just he couldn't-

_One year ago._

Pain. That was the first thing he remembered.

Dim light filtered in from a hall through a barred window. The cell was stone, dark and cold. His hands were shackled with chains to the ground. Everywhere hurt; his side, arms, shoulders, leg. His clothes were torn and dirty, and blood seeped through the tears.

With every breath came more pain, like he would suffocate at any moment. Kakashi's mind raced. Captured… he was captured?

The door rattled, and Kakashi flinched. With a bang it slapped open.

"Thank heavens… I thought you were dead." It was Minato-sensei, sighing hugely in relief.

"Sen… sei?" Kakashi managed a whisper, his dry throat protesting. He tried to sit up and found he was exhausted.

"Don't move," said Minato. He broke the chains of his shackles with a kunai.

"I'll get the cuffs later. We have to get out of here, Kakashi. Can you stand?" The young Jonin pushed himself up the wall, wavered, and blacked out.

By the time he was conscious enough to realize where he was, they were already outside. Minato-sensei was carrying him through the trees.

"Sensei…" Talking seemed a huge effort. "Where am- Ah!"

Pain lanced through his uncovered left eye and he muffled another yell. In a second Minato had set him on a tree branch. Kakashi took huge, panicked breaths and held his eye with his hands. Obito's eye! What was wrong with it? Warm liquid dribbled through his fingers- blood. After a moment the stabbing pain ebbed.

"Don't try to open your eye again. Just relax. I can get you to a medic soon." Sensei spoke calmly, but his voice was tinged with stress.

A medic… he must mean Rin. Rin- was she safe? Where was she…?

Wait. When had he seen her last?

"Sensei- when… where's Rin?"

Minato was silent for a moment. "We brought her back to the village. I'm… sorry I couldn't get there faster."

"That's alright." Kakashi muttered, right eye closing. He was exhausted. "I know how it is. The elders probably kept you cooped up, right?"

"That's no excuse! I'm your teacher; I'm supposed to protect you! This is all my fault!" Kakashi glanced up, confused. Sensei _never_ shouted, and getting caught wasn't that big a deal.

"It's alright, really, sensei. I've been captured before. All that matters is that you came. I'm a little bit hurt… but Rin can fix me up."

Minato froze.

"… What did you just say?"

"I said Rin can heal me, so I'm fine. Though my head is killing me." Kakashi managed a half-laugh. He'd never seen sensei like this. What was wrong?

"I didn't give any information to the enemy, did I? I don't think I…" Kakashi trailed off. Something was wrong, he could sense it. What could it be? He couldn't have been missing for too long. It hadn't been more than a few days since he was… where had he been last?

Then his scattered brain realized.

"Wait, I can't-"

Kakashi's breath squeezed out of his lungs. His eyes stretched wide. An awful feeling welded in his chest, his blood froze. His mind raced, but every moment only confirmed the terrible truth.

"I can't… remember. I can't remember anything! How did I get here? What day is it? How long have I been gone?"

Fear shot through his body; Kakashi almost couldn't ask the next question.

"Sensei, where's Rin?"

There were spots in his vision.

_"We brought her back to the village. I'm… sorry I couldn't get there faster."_

It couldn't be. No!

"You've been missing for nine days." Sensei's voice was quiet.

"Rin has been dead for eight."

_September 14, 3:30- 3:45 PM_

Last confirmed sighting of Nohara Rin, Outpost 76, northern Fire Country.

_September 14, 6:00-6:15 PM_

Last confirmed sighting of Hatake Kakashi, Outpost 76, northern Fire Country.

_September 15, 4:00-5:00 AM_

Estimated Time of Death of Nohara Rin.

_September 23, 11:00 AM_

Successful rescue of Hatake Kakashi from an unknown facility in Tea country.

Three weeks of Kakashi's memory was gone. His only clue- his fixed tanto, found near Rin's body.

He feared what he couldn't remember.

Rin had died, he had been there. But Hatake Kakashi, genius, child prodigy and pride of the ANBU Black ops, had been helpless to save her.

The girl he maybe even… loved.

* * *

><p><strong>Word Count<strong>-** 3,652 words**

A/N- The boggart scene was the first part of this story I ever wrote. Originally it was Kakashi's father, but as the story grew it became Rin. To you manga readers, I'll just say this- I've had Rin's story written since before that fateful chapter, so any similarities are just creepily coincidental.

Review please- especially this chapter. You could say it's the hinge on which this story swings. And if there are problems, I kind of need to know them now. What you think I did right is also helpful.

And thank you again to all you reviewers! As of this chapter I'm at _168 reviews! _You are all wonderful. Shout out to all you regular reviewers- authors notice who reviews every chapter, believe me.


	9. In Which Cracks Appear

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto, they belong to J.K. Rowling and Masashi Kishimoto respectively.

**A/N- Hehe… yeah, this chapter's late. But hey, it's long!**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Nine: In Which Cracks Appear<span>**

_ September 4, Forbidden Forest, thirteen days previous._

Sirius Black was a dog; that's why he didn't notice such an obvious trap. At least, dangling above the forest floor in a rope net, that's what he told himself. He'd been in his canine form for what seemed like months. After a while the animal mind had started to take over, making it harder to recognize such "human" traps. Right now Sirius was in that same human shape, desperately trying to pick apart a pebble-hard knot with dirty fingers. What a way for the Black heir to go! The only ones he could think of who set traps like this were centaurs, and they'd certainly turn him in. Maybe even straight to the Dementors.

Sirius shook the thought away. No. He was going to escape, somehow get into Hogwarts, and kill that _damn bastard_ Pettigrew.

"Well, what do have we here?"

Instantly Sirius transformed. Maybe he could convince the centaurs they'd just caught a stray dog, somehow escape-

But the man standing below him, expression bemused, was most certainly not a centaur. Despite the chilly weather he wore only a grey vest over a black shirt, paired with dark pants and boots. Several pouches hung from his belt or were strapped to his leg. Even in the dim light of the forest Sirius noticed the pale lavender eyes, out of place on his dark complexion.

"Don't bother. I know who you are, Mr. Black," he said calmly. "I'm sorry about the means, but this was the most efficient way of having a word with you."

The Grim-like dog only growled.

"I'd like to have a civil conversation, please. There's a barrier around this immediate area. I know you are a bit… skittish at the moment, and for good reason. But don't bother trying to escape. I think you will find that we have very similar interests."

Sirius waited a long moment, then transformed back into a human. It wasn't like he had a choice anyway- for now at least, he would cooperate. Something flashed in the man's hand and there was a whistling sound. The escaped convict plummeted to the ground, untangling himself from the net a bit frantically.

Up close, Sirius realized the man was young- late teens, early twenties at most. His unnerving purple eyes were calm, confident.

"Who are you?" demanded Sirius in a voice rusty from disuse.

"I am a shinobi. I'm sure you've heard of us."

Sirius searched back through his memory to before Azkaban, and his brow furrowed. "Shinobi? You mean the ninja-guys who sided with the Death Eaters? I never believed the stories."

"Shinobi _are_ real, Mr. Black. And this one wants to make a deal with you."

"Sorry, not interested. If the rumors really are true, then I'll most likely end up with my throat slit. Besides, I'm only here for one reason, and I doubt it's the same as yours," Sirius said flatly.

"You mean your revenge on Peter Petigrew, the man who sent you to prison? I think our goals are closer than you think."

"How did you-"

"It's in my interest to know these kinds of things," the man dismissed. "That is why you're here, isn't it?"

Sirius nodded, carefully. Did he work for the ministry? A bounty hunter, maybe? Then why would he care about his revenge?

"A while ago, something very important was taken from some… _friends_ of mine, and we want it back. That something happens to be in Hogwarts right now. Unfortunately, there's a new barrier makes it impossible for any shinobi to enter the grounds. The Dementors are a problem too. Shinobi can't use protective spells like wizards, so we are as vulnerable to them as any muggle- even more so, actually."

"So what do you want from me?"

"Simple- a way inside the grounds. You're a wizard, you even attended this school. You have to know a way," said the man genially.

"If it was that easy, Petigrew would be dead by now! It's hard enough just trying to survive, let alone trying to get past those Dementors again! Besides, why would I do that for you? What do I gain?" Sirius snapped.

The man twirled a knife on his finger, carelessly. "I think you'll be interested to know, Mr. Black, that I'm not the only shinobi here. Hogwarts, or specifically, Dumbledore hired a shinobi a few weeks ago to guard the thing that I'm after. You understand? Even if you did find a way through the barrier, you'd be dead before you reached the castle. You don't stand a chance against a shinobi."

At the last word, the lavender-eyed man moved, and Sirius barely had time to flinch before the knife was pressed to his throat.

"Without my help, you have no chance of living long enough inside that castle to complete your revenge. But without you, I can't get in there to take back what was stolen from us. Do you see how we can help each other now?"

"What is it that you're after? Who wants it?"

"Something of tremendous value to a certain friend of mine. Something that should've been his, if not for a certain person's interference. It belongs to us, Mr. Black."

"How do I even know there's a shinobi there?" Sirius demanded.

The man smiled good-naturedly. "I suppose you're just going to have to trust me."

"Trust you? I don't even know your name!"

The man's pale eyes gleamed. "How rude of me. I've forgotten my manners. My name is Yoshida." He removed the knife and stepped back into a bow.

"Botan Yoshida."

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

The crack wasn't fixed yet.

Harry thought that was odd; usually things didn't stay broken long at Hogwarts, but whether it was Filch who did repairs or the castle healing itself he wasn't sure.

The wizard exhaled. The staff room door had cracked three days ago, and the person who broke it hadn't been seen since then. How Kakashi had nearly split a door in half just by slamming it was still a mystery, but one not as hotly debated as where the white-haired student even _was_. All kinds of rumors drifted around the student body- Kakashi was a werewolf, transformed and running amuck in the forest. Kakashi was a spy for the Japanese magical government, and reporting his findings back home. Kakashi was a samurai undergoing secret training in the mountains. The last rumor was spread by Dean Thomas, who swore he'd seem a sword sticking out from under Kakashi's bed.

Whatever the reason, Harry was a bit worried for his roommate. Other students didn't know about the Dementor, or his mysterious injuries, or how he fought off an attacking Hippogriff with his bare hands. Even back in the pet store when Kakashi caught Crookshakes and Scabbers in mid-air- those kinds of reflexes just weren't normal. While for everyone else the rumors were mostly joking, Harry and his friends knew that Kakashi might actually be mixed up in trouble. Why else would he be so strong?

_Then again, Kakashi's strength also means that he can take care of himself, and I shouldn't worry._

Although when the girl appeared, Kakashi's toughness had fallen away. Harry had been closer than anyone else; he had seen the terrified expression on his classmate's usually impassive face.

Whoever the girl was, Kakashi had been scared of her even before she had… died. Harry suppressed a shiver at the memory. He'd watched one of Dudley's horror movies before from behind the couch. It was gruesome, bloody, and a bit thrilling. But movies and real life were two very different things. The way that girl had died… it was so _real._ Like someone had punched through her chest. The sound of ribs snapping and blood dripping had nearly been enough to make Harry lose his breakfast.

_"Rin."_ Barely a whisper, but Harry was sure that's what Kakashi had said. It sounded like a Japanese word. At this point it was their only clue but Hogwarts didn't have a Japanese-to-English dictionary, Hermione had already checked. What did it mean?

"Hey, Harry, Harry! Earth to Harry!" Ron's voice shook through his thoughts.

"Sorry. Just thinking."

Ron looked at the broken door in front of them. "I don't blame you. That was pretty freaky, huh?"

"You can say that again," Harry mused. Not just him, either. He knew that many of the other Gryffindors in that fateful Defense class had had nightmares the last few nights. Hermione said that one girl had actually woken up screaming, waking the whole girl's dorm.

"I just wish I knew what that was all about. What "rin" means. Not to sound like Hermione, but I wish we had a dictionary to translate with."

"Wait. I think we do." Ron said suddenly.

"What do you mean? There's nothing in the library, we already checked. So unless you have one laying around…"

"_I_ don't. But Kakashi does, remember? And I'd bet it's in our room right now."

Minutes later found Harry and Ron huffing and puffing in their dorm room, scrutinizing their dormmate's neatly- made bed. The curtains were pulled back with only Kakashi's wand resting on the pillow, carefully placed there by Harry, who had picked it up after what he was now dubbing the "Boggart Incident". A trunk at the foot of the bed was the only indication that anyone lived there.

"The trunk's locked," stated Ron. "I think it's this piece of-ow!"

Ron snatched his hand back. "It shocked me! Bloody hell!"

Harry crouched down and looked at the trunk. A brownish piece of paper with strange black markings was stuck over the lock.

"It looks like some of Kakashi's magic _jutsu_ stuff. It's probably just a charm to keep people from going through his things."

"You make it sound like we're thieves or something! This was your idea, you know."

"I know. We're just trying to figure out what happened with that girl. It's for his own good, right?" Harry said a little uncertainly, glancing at his red-headed friend, who shrugged.

"I guess. Just- I want to know what this guy's all about. Locking up his stuff is kind of paranoid, don't you think? It's like he'd hiding something."

"'Course he's hiding something," said Harry, standing up. "He still hasn't even told us what happened to his eye yet, let alone the dementor. It couldn't be that- hey!"

Pulling open the nightstand drawer, Harry found what they were looking for. A rather small, paperback book with worn edges, with characters and "_Japanese to English Dictionary- Third Edition_" printed on the front.

Notes, edits and doodles covered the inside of the dictionary in two different handwriting; one large and scrawled, the other tiny and neat. Lines of characters were crossed out with new ones meticulously penned in underneath. English words, too, were crossed out and replaced with shaky letters that looked like children's writing. A few pages were glued in in the back, with rows of brand new entries listed, mostly in the messy handwriting.

After some searching, they found their quarry, the definition one of the many edited ones.

"Rin means 'bell'? What a waste." Harry flopped backwards on Kakashi's bed. What do bells have to do with anything? All this way for nothing.

Suddenly there was a small sound like a click. The wizard sat up again, listening. There it was again, when the bed shifted. Harry looked around, feeling along the sheets and the headboard.

"What're you doing?" asked Ron.

"I thought I heard something." As he spoke, Harry picked up the pillow.

A picture frame faced downwards on the white sheet.

"Hey, Ron, look at this," breathed Harry, picking it up. For just a moment he hesitated, not flipping it over. Was it really okay for them to be looking through his stuff like this? But curiosity won over, and the two boys stared in wonder for a moment.

Green grass and tree trunks were the only background. From what Harry knew of samurai movies, all the people in the picture were wearing the traditional wrap-around style Japanese clothes. In the middle of the photo stood a smiling couple. A blonde man in blue and black had his arm around a woman with long bright red hair wearing a long white kimono. On the woman's left, looking a bit off balance like he'd been yanked into the portrait by force, was Kakashi- two eyes showing. Interesting, but nothing compared to the other surprise the photo held. To the right of the blonde man were two kids about their age. A boy with dark brown hair was wearing an outfit similar to the man's, but with an orange sash-like belt. Next to the boy was a girl in a lavender kimono, with short brown hair and purple tattoos on her cheeks.

It was _her._ The girl from the boggart!

"Bloody hell…" Breathed Ron as they both took it in.

They were silent for a moment.

"So I guess… he did know her," said Harry a bit uneasily.

"Well of course he did, right? I mean, why else would he... you know," Ron concluded lamely.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know, just, I saw the look on his face when she appeared, before she…" He put a hand to his chest in a crude gesture of what had happened to the girl. "Kakashi looked scared. Almost like he _knew_ what was going to happen before it did."

Ron shivered. "This is getting creepier by the second. I know we get into trouble every year, but this is something else."

"I know. The basilisk was scary, but that girl…" Harry shook the image of her bleeding body away. "Hermione should still be in the Common room- let's put everything back then ask her about it."

"Why do you always think I know everything?" Hermione snapped, but Harry could tell that she was just as concerned as they were.

"C'mon, we just want to know what you think!" said Ron, and the witch relented.

"I'd guess that 'Rin' is the name of the girl," she began. Harry nearly slapped himself. How had he not guessed that sooner?

"Kakashi obviously knows her," Hermione continued, resting her chin on her hand and looked into the fireplace. "You said the woman with the red hair was wearing a white dress? They might have been her wedding. If only we could get in contact with the couple… or anyone from his home. Without that, we-"

"-we still don't know anything," finished Ron exasperatedly. "And we can't ask Kakashi, because he's bloody AWOL. Not that he'd tell us anyway, but still. Where _is_ he, anyway?"

"Maybe something happened at his home and he had to go back on short notice," suggested Hermione.

"Somehow I doubt it," said Harry flatly. "I just wish he would stop keeping so many secrets! What's the harm in telling us? We're his friends, aren't we?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "I just hope he realizes that."

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

Kakashi was angry with himself for a few different reasons. The first was his cowardice, how he'd lost control when that… illusion appeared. The second was the recklessness that led to his limping.

No ANBU captain had any excuse to be that stupid. He was supposed to be a _strategist,_ for Kami's sake. "Smart" was not the best way to describe his actions since he fled the castle. All he wanted to do was run, or train, or fight- anything, no matter the risk. So when Pakkun had caught a trail Friday evening, two and a half days ago, of a missing-nin just outside the school's barrier, he hadn't hesitated to go after her. The kunoichi was running, clearly in retreat. But the mission was to kill anyone and everyone, and Kakashi wasn't about to let his prey escape.

In his stupid haste to catch her, Kakashi had walked straight into a trap. He'd noticed the kunoichi's gas mask too late. Rin would've known the name of the drug in the smoke bomb, but all Kakashi knew was that it numbed his chakra so he couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu anymore.

The kunoichi had him dancing in the palm of her hand the whole time. Taijutsu was obviously her specialty, while Kakashi knew he didn't have the stamina for that kind of battle. Before long she disarmed his sword, before he even had a chance to uncover Obito's Sharingan. That was the only thing that saved him in the straight Taijutsu match that followed- the kind of fight he always avoided. Near the end she'd managed to grab him by the ankle and throw him into a tree, nearly shattering both. He was desperate. Before long Kakashi could barely keep himself alive; let alone try and capture her. The moment he saw an opening, he took it- killing was so much easier.

Another source of information gone, all due to his recklessness. Oddly, the savage fight had fitted his temper perfectly at the time. The risk, the danger, the exhilaration- it took his mind off things, if only for a while.

After the fight the ANBU had promptly collapsed from effects of the drug and the fight. How long he slept he wasn't exactly sure. When he woke, Dai, his largest summons, was curled up next to him in a big snoring pile.

_"How long have you been here?"_ asked Kakashi, a bit irked.

_"Since after you fell asleep. Pakkun got me,"_ the summons answered in the growly, dog-language he used. He never had gotten the hang of Japanese, or Konohan, or whatever the hell his language technically was.

Kakashi 'tsk'ed and sat up. His head rushed and there were some black spots in his vision. Everywhere, it seemed, was either bruised or cut up from his earlier collision with the tree. Standing, or at least trying to, he remembered his ankle. Damn. It was swollen and a bit bloody, but didn't quite feel broken.

Quickly, mindlessly, he set to work on the body, searching it for anything useful. Outside of the standard kunai, explosive tags, and other assorted ninja tools there was nothing special. Flipping through his Bingo Book Kakashi found her, or at least who he thought she was. The pale-bluish tint of her face made it hard to tell. Inori Tanara, Sand Village. Missing for two years, Chunnin, B-class missing-nin.

Only a B-class Chunnin? In ANBU he handled B-class two at a time. Back when he had a team to back him up… he was feeling their absence. Shinobi fought in teams, and without one Kakashi was vulnerable. Was he really so dependent on teamwork that he couldn't even handle Chunnin without getting hurt? Stupid- what kind of Jonin was he, if he couldn't even handle that? What if he had lost the battle?

All at once the realization struck him- no help was coming. If he died it was doubtful his corpse would ever be found in the dense forest. Would the wizards even look for it? The body of a stranger who failed to keep anyone alive, even himself? Who would waste their time on a pathetic ninja like him? All it took to make him snap was an illusion- one little illusion that all the other wizard children had been able to overcome. Except for him.

Why did he have to be so weak? All his life he'd been told he was brilliant. A genius. Best of his generation. What kind of prodigy was he, really? He could barely take down one B-class Chunnin, ran away from one simple illusion, couldn't even keep his _most important_ person alive!

What was the point of being Jonin? ANBU? His village didn't need someone like him. The wizards didn't want him. Team Seven would've been better off without him. Nobody needed him!

Kakashi contemplated the fallen kunoichi's kunai, twirling it in his fingers with practiced ease. He remembered, clear as yesterday. He could still feel them; the crooked pale lines that had appeared below his elbows after his father died, back when he was young. A small idea formed in his mind. Was Kakashi any stronger than he was then? Was he really…?

The kunai stilled, cool flat of the blade pressing on the inside of his wrist. His elbows tingled, his heart raced, air came in gasps. Memories of the pain and relief it had brought him swirled in his mind, tantalizing. Should he… could he…?

A firm tug on the sleeve of his white ANBU cloak.

_"Pakkun, let go." _

The pug didn't move. Pakkun just stared at him with a fierce determination. That look… the same one Minato-sensei had given him.

Suddenly the haze slipped away; the kunai tumbled to the ground with a clang. Kakashi looked at his fisted, quivering hands for a moment and felt the adrenaline fade. Then he took a deep breath.

_"Pakkun, let go,"_ he said again. This time his summons complied, regarding him with a quiet suspicion.

In moments the kunoichi's head was removed from her body with a single-minded precision; proof of his success. With no bag to put it in, Kakashi emptied out her large weapon pouch and stuffed it in there. Blood quickly stained the tough material, but it would work. With a bit of amusement he imagined the look on Dumbledore's face when one of his dogs delivered _this_ package to his office.

_"Pakkun, could you-"_

_"No, no! Let me, Kakashi-san!"_ Yipped an excited Risu, joining them. A bit on the small side, Risu wasn't really a battle-type, but she was fast. As the black-and-white bounced off through the trees, Kakashi thought how she really was like her namesake, 'squirrel'.

Rin had named her. The thought came unbidden, and brought a stab in the chest like a knife.

Pakkun nudged his injured leg, making it twinge in pain. Kakashi winced.

_"You asked Risu to do that, didn't you?" _

The pug yawned and didn't answer. They had been together so long he didn't even need to say it- but Pakkun didn't plan on leaving Kakashi alone right now. Opening his mouth then closing it again, the boy almost said thank you. But that too went unsaid.

Leaning on Dai didn't make the trip back to the castle much easier. Injuries were fairly normal for Kakashi, but that didn't mean they weren't still annoying, especially ones that made it nearly impossible to walk.

After what seemed like hours Kakashi, Dai, and Pakkun made it to the Hogwarts barrier, making them all shiver a bit as they passed through. Dumbledore had put up that barrier at Kakashi's request. It's one and only purpose was to keep shinobi out. Somehow the old wizard made the barrier able to recognize shinobi's chakra and repel it. At first it had rejected Kakashi too. Even after explosion tags and a chidori the barrier held firm, so the shinobi had a pretty good amount of faith in its durability. After that Dumbledore taught the barrier to recognize and accept Kakashi and his dog's chakra. This let the white-haired boy relax a bit. If a shinobi managed to break through the barrier at the very least it would make enough commotion to alert him.

Hitting the barrier meant that they were only about one hundred meters from the school, and Kakashi hesitated. Days and nights were hard to judge in the lightless forest where time seemed to stand still, but the Jonin was pretty sure it was Sunday. Sunday meant that tomorrow was Monday and he had to attend class. Honestly he wished he didn't have to go, not because of the academics but for everything else. The students, the looks, the questions, the whispers that would undoubtedly become worse with the boggart- he was in no hurry to face them.

But the quick painkillers he'd taken earlier were wearing off. There were more medical supplies back in his trunk, but those too were going to run out quick at the rate he was going. Besides, Kakashi was pretty sure his ankle was fractured and something was wrong with the tendons. Now he was leaning completely on Dai's tall furry back; his foot couldn't stand any weight at all. He knew he had to go to the medical bay, and so did Pakkun, who would probably drag him there if need be.

Limping to the edge of the forest, Kakashi blinked in the setting sunlight. Dammit. Better get it over with.

_"You two need to get some rest,"_ the Jonin said, letting go of Dai and balancing on one foot. _"I'm going to the medical bay. Really,"_ he added at Pakkun's look. Some kind of contract-holder he was, if his first summon didn't even trust him. After a few more assurances they obeyed, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Kakashi pulled out his sheathed katana to use as a makeshift crutch. Skirting the edge of the forest just out of sight, he found himself lingering, procrastinating his return. Hogwarts- he'd been there barely a fortnight, yet somehow he already hated it with an intensity that almost surprised him. But the pounding in his leg, and his promise to more people than just Pakkun, forced him to take hobbling steps towards the castle.

The window to the medical bay wasn't locked and, after checking that no students were around, the shinobi dropped into the room, landing on one foot.

Pomfrey-san nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Ka-kakashi! Where have you…"

He dropped his sword, limped to a bed and flopped down on it. "Would you heal me, Madame Pomfrey?" he asked, transitioning languages and rolling up his pant-leg to the knee showing a swollen, slightly bloody leg.

The witch went pale and stood still for a moment, obviously trying to compose herself. After a moment she snatched her wand out of her apron pocket and waved it. The sandal stretched and eased itself off, making Kakashi wince under his mask. He laid back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling, fighting an irrational urge to snap at the nurse and wanting this to be over as soon as possible. Being in a hospital, getting healed reminded him of… what had happened.

To any onlooker, Kakashi appeared merely bored.

"How did this happen?" asked the medi-witch quietly.

"I wasn't careful."

Silence for a moment. "Are there really people in the forest? People like you? Is that what happened- did you get in a fight?"

She made it sound like a school-yard scuffle. "Of course not. I slipped while walking. That's all."

"Do you think I'm that ignorant, Kakashi?" The old witch accused. "An injury like this doesn't happen accidentally! You're covered in scrapes and bruises. Some of them are _knife_ wounds."

"It's nothing you need to worry about. I took care of it." Of course he didn't think she would believe him. It just would've been easier for her to not ask questions at all.

"You're ankle was nearly twisted off!"

"I said I handled it!" Kakashi snapped.

Pomfrey flinched, fear-scent leaking off her, but didn't say anything.

"Is my ankle broken, then?" Kakashi asked blandly.

"No, it's fractured- just a crack. It's the tendons that are the problem. They're all torn up."

"But you can fix it?"

Madame Pomfrey turned back to his leg. "Of course I can. I'm a medi-witch," she said like that meant anything to Kakashi. "I'll fix that, and your other cuts and bruises."

Kakashi blinked. Sure, he'd gotten a bit scraped up when the tree shattered, but it wasn't anything for a medic to worry about. The medics at home- frankly, they didn't have the time or the chakra to worry about trivial stuff like that.

Rin had always found time for his bruises, though.

Kakashi tried very hard to think about something else while Madame Pomfrey healed him. Long minutes crept by like hours. His leg alternately ached, burned, and went numb.

After he was equipped with some sort of magical splint-bandage and a few medical potions, Kakashi slipped on his slightly dirty Hogwarts cloak, adjusted his headband, and took the shortest route back to the Gryffindor bathrooms for the change of clothes he'd stashed nearby, and a shower. The medic had given him a potion that made his leg feel like it was wrapped in warm cotton, and his head blissfully fuzzy. Drugs were always the best part of getting injured.

It was late and common room was empty, thanks to his purposely prolonged bath. Kakashi pulled his fingers through his still-damp hair, stifled a yawn, and pulled his Hogwarts cloak tighter around his shoulders. He hadn't gotten much sleep the last few days. Still, even with the wonderfully soothing drug, he had a feeling that a sleeping pill would still be needed to get him through the night.

A lamp was still on in the dorm room. The other two boys were asleep, but Harry and Ron were sitting cross-legged on the ground playing chess. Both looked up when he entered, and their eyes practically bulged out of their heads.

"Kakashi! Where have you-"

The shinobi put a finger to his lips and pointed to the closed bed curtains of their other dorm mates.

"Where have you been?" Harry finished in a whisper.

Kakashi shrugged. "Out."

"Where? You were gone all weekend!" asked Harry again.

"It doesn't matter."

Suddenly Ron stood with a huff. "The hell is wrong with you? We were worried! You don't have to be such a bloody secretive bastard all the time, you know!"

"I don't need to tell you anything," said Kakashi coldly, moving towards his bed.

"The hell you don't! We saw the picture, Kakashi!"

"Ron!" said Harry in surprise.

Kakashi was very still. When he spoke, his voice was dangerously even.

"You went through my stuff?"

"I was just trying to return your wand," said Harry, a bit of fear-scent on him. "It was an accident. But we saw the girl- the one from the boggart. You know her, don't you?"

Kakashi glared daggers at them. The nerve of these damn brats! How _dare_ they? What right did they have to snoop? Why couldn't they just stay out of his fucking _life_?

"Rin is _none_ of your business." He spat every word.

"So that _is_ her name. Who is she?" asked Harry, "Your friend from back home?"

Ron spoke up, "Why was she your boggart? Is she-"

"Shut up! Just shut up, both of you!" Kakashi snarled.

"You don't know fucking _anything_! This has nothing to do with you! _She_ has nothing to do with you!"

The boys flinched back, wide-eyed.

He looked at his hands; they were trembling again, clenched in fists. Deliberately, he took a deep breath and pulled his cloak off his shoulders. It crumpled to the ground.

Damn. Damn it all.

Harry's eyes flicked to his left arm, to the ANBU tattoo and still- pink scar that his sleeveless shirt showed. Kakashi slapped his hand over them.

"Just stay away from me," he growled. Then he tore the curtains on his bed closed, and didn't hear another word for the rest of the night.

**CagedWolfCagedWolfCagedWolfC agedWolf**

When Harry woke the next day, Kakashi was gone again. Only the absence of the wand on his perfectly-made bed showed that last night's encounter hadn't been just a dream.

Last night. Harry shuddered at the thought. For just a moment Kakashi's bland, bored demeanor had slipped. And underneath was… scary.

_"You don't know fucking anything!"_

And he was right. Harry didn't know anything. The Dementor attack, the boggart, the girl Rin- Kakashi was one mystery after the next. Where had he _been?_ How had he gotten the scar on his arm, why was he suddenly limping? But if Kakashi didn't say anything, Harry would never know! The only one with the answers was also the last person to ever reveal them

An idea came to him then. On the way to breakfast he told Ron and Hermione about it.

"At this point, I think it's our only option," said Hermione somberly. "If Kakashi won't talk, then Dumbledore's the only one who would know anything. I asked Madame Pince if there was a book on Japanese wizards, and she says someone already checked it out. Apparently we're not the only ones who're curious."

They caught Dumbledore in the hall after breakfast.

"Professor, there's something we'd like to ask you about."

"What is it?"

"Kakashi." Said Harry simply. The old wizard's face darkened.

"Yes. I expected you to come to me, sooner or later. But this school has a privacy policy I must uphold. Especially in the case of Mr. Hatake… I'm afraid I can't tell you much."

Harry blanched. "But Professor! That girl… the Dementors… and now he's hurt! He disappeared for days, and came back limping! We just want to help!"

"He's lucky to have such dedicated friends," smiled the wizard, a bit sadly.

"Yeah, if only he thought so too," grumbled Ron. "He won't tell us a thing."

"Yes, well… Please don't blame him for the way he is. Kakashi grew up in a very different place, and from what I know his life there wasn't easy."

He paused.

"And, a word of advice that I hope you won't ignore. Whatever business Kakashi has outside of these castle walls, you _must_ stay out of it. I'm serious- this is as much for your sake as his."

There was silence for a moment, then Dumbledore's usual demeanor returned.

"Now, off to class with you. Don't be late."

Reluctantly the trio turned and trudged to Magical Creatures.

Even though he knew Kakashi had come back, Harry was still a bit surprised to see Kakashi lingering near the edge of the crowd of students in front of Hagrid's hut. More than a few whispers were directed at him; Kakashi had been the talk of the school since his disappearance. The boy in question was pointedly ignoring them, looking almost bored. But Harry remembered last night all too clearly. Was Kakashi just faking his indifference? The transfer student was quickly becoming the most complicated person Harry had ever met.

Their lesson was on gnomes, much to Ron's delight, whose house was apparently overrun with the creatures. But they were learning to care for them, not exterminate them, which dimmed the red-head's enthusiasm greatly. Since the Hippogriff lesson the Magical Creature lessons had been alright, if a bit on the dangerous side. As with the first lesson Harry had seen Kakashi intervene plenty of times to stop someone from getting bitten or scratched, which might be the reason the lessons weren't a total failure; though he hadn't done anything as amazing as stopping a hippogriff again. Today Kakashi said hardly a word the whole lesson and made no move to help when a gnome latched itself onto Ron's sleeve.

In History of Magic, Kakashi made his way promptly to his regular seat in the corner and looked out the window, continuing to ignore everything around him. Harry dozed through the lesson, until he noticed what Kakashi was doing in the seat next to him- he'd flipped a piece of parchment sideways and was writing on it in his language, top to bottom and right to left. Harry stared at the foreign characters with a curious fascination. When Professor Binns ended class, Harry worked up a bit of courage.

"What are you writing? Are they notes, or…" the wizard boy trailed off. Kakashi rolled up the parchment and stood up.

"It's a letter," he said flatly, and moved to leave. Harry noticed his pronounced limp was getting worse as the day wore on.

"To who?" asked Ron, he and Hermione running a bit to catch up to them."Your parents?"

Kakashi stopped. There was no one around; they'd taken a shortcut to Herbology and were the first ones to make it to the greenhouse at the edge of the forest.

Their classmate faced away from them. "That would be difficult, seeing as their dead."

A cold feeling welded in Harry's stomach. So Kakashi… he was…

"I, uh," Harry hesitated. "I am too. I mean- my parents are gone too."

There was an exhale like a small laugh.

"I know. They were killed by that Voldemort person, right? They died when you were a baby." Kakashi turned. His voice was cutting but his eye looked dead.

"Get over yourself, Potter. You never even _knew_ your parents. Stop acting like you understand. They are just strangers to you."

For a moment Harry stood very still. Then all he could feel was a white-hot rage.

"You…" his voice shook. "What's wrong with you? You have no right-"

"Don't I? It's true, isn't it?" Kakashi countered, voice hard. "You never had parents in the first place! You don't know what it's like to lose people!"

"Bastard!" Ron threw a punch at Kakashi. He caught it, twisted his arm behind his back and shoved him down.

"You little-" growled Ron from the ground. "Why we ever tried to help you I'll never know! Deal with it alone for all I care!"

"And when, exactly, did I ask for _your_ help?" the eye-patched boy countered acidly.

"Both of you, just stop!" Hermione wavered, close to tears.

"Why should I? Hermione, did you _hear_ what he just said?"

_Just strangers._ A cold feeling dropped into the pit of Harry's stomach. True, he didn't remember his parents… but strangers? They weren't… were they?

"Shut up!" Abruptly Kakashi's demeanor changed. Whipped around towards the forest, he held his hand behind him like he was keeping them back.

"Why-"

"I said shut the fuck up!"

They were still for a moment. Then-

"Run." Kakashi's voice was calm.

"What? Why should we-"

"I said run! Get back to the castle! NOW!"

But it was too late.

_Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink!_

It happened so fast. Kakashi's hand darted back and forth- blocking something?

Kakashi swore loudly in his language.

Hermione screamed.

* * *

><p><strong>Word Count- 7,150<strong>

**Author's Notes- (bear with me for a moment, there's a lot)**

Sorry about how long this took. This chapter was actually really hard; it took me a few tries to get Kakashi's reaction exactly how I wanted. (Talk about mood swings).

Oh, Botan. Yes, an OC villain! As this story has its own plot, it also has its own villains. I _kind_ of really like him, so if you don't like OCs… well, sorry. I'm not planning on writing terrible characters, just give him a chance! And if you knew where Botan's name came from without looking it up, then congratulations; you are officially a Kakashi nerd. Join the club.

On a more serious note- this chapter deals with some pretty heavy and very real stuff. Remember that this is Kakashi speaking, not me, and he's a very messed up kid who says pretty a-hole stuff sometimes. Please know I really don't mean to offend anyone.

**Previous chapters have been edited again as of February 8, 2013. **I'm trying not to do this very often. There were some minor edits, and one important thing I took out. In chapter 7, when Kakashi saved Malfoy from the hippogriff, I gave a tiny hint that Kakashi meant for Malfoy to see him. That's been changed- Kakashi didn't mean for Malfoy to see him.

**OC dogs-** I have two OC dogs in this story.

Dai- a big, gray, wolf-like dog. He's kind of this story's Bull (you know Kakashi's huge bulldog?) His name means 'big'.

Risu- a smallish dog, but bigger than Pakkun. I imagine her as a border collie mix. She's young and a bit of a spaz, but loyal. Her name means, as stated, 'squirrel'.

**Note on pairings-** I've been asked this a lot, so I'll try to answer as best I can. Now, these characters are pretty young, so heavy romance is just not realistic. But thirteen year olds can still have crushes and all that, so there's going to be some light romance in that way. However, at the same time, Kakashi is hardly fourteen mentally. No one's going to tell me that these shinobi kids don't mature fast, so it also makes sense that they are able to have more serious relationships at a younger age. Basically, I'm trying to write romance for someone that's fourteen, but at the same time, not fourteen. See the dilemma?

So there's going to be different levels of seriousness going on. There will be some cute little-kid crushes, especially later. Think the first series of Naruto, where romance is there mostly for comedy. But, there definitely is one main pairing. It is NOT Kakashi/Hermione, so please stop asking me to make that the main pairing. Not to say that there won't be any of that, just I figured I might as well warn you.

Review, please! I'm at 196 right now, let's make it 200!


End file.
